Some cannabis businesses are closing their doors – by choice or order – and they’re relying more on drive-thru windows as a way to better serve customers and avoid spreading coronavirus.
It’s yet another example of how retailers are adapting to cope with the pandemic and keep their marijuana sales on track.
Edgewater, Maryland-based Mana Supply Co., which closed its doors Sunday, spent about $100,000 converting a former bank drive-thru into a secure drive-thru for its dispensary, said Christopher Jensen, the medical marijuana company’s co-founder and CEO.
Mana Supply customers order ahead of time. When they arrive at the dispensary, they press a button on a call box that enables them to show identification cards via video. Mana Supply installed high-resolution cameras inside and outside the enclosures.
After they’re cleared, the customers drive into the bay, the high-speed garage door closes behind them and they push a button on a second call station to have their IDs checked again.
The employee then puts the prefilled order into a drawer and slides it out.