This column is a look at a brave soul who took a leap of faith to open his own businesses. What follows is a personal profile of Eric Parkhurst who is following his dreams and thriving despite the odds—and Covid.
Winewood Organics
2349 Winewood Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48103(734) 929-2297
info@winewoodorganics.com
Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
In many Michigan households, marijuana is a part of daily life for a variety of reasons. But in the spring of 2020, users feared they might lose access to the growers and sellers that provided it for them. With the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, only businesses that were regarded as essential were allowed to operate. Eric Parkhurst was among those waiting to hear whether lawmakers would recognize how essential it was for Michiganders to maintain their access to marijuana.
I recently sat down to interview Parkhurst to learn why he chose what seemed to be the most inconvenient time possible to open the doors of Winewood Organics—a business he describes as “part farm, part hash lab, part dispensary.” I wanted to find out what challenges he faced as a new small business dealing with the pandemic. I was also curious to know if there were any unique positives that came from opening a small business during the pandemic.
Before ever hearing the word “coronavirus,” Parkhurst had been growing organic marijuana plants as medicine for over ten years. With the legalization of recreational use in December of 2018, Parkhurst began working toward opening a dispensary. As you can imagine, there was a lot of red tape and licensing that went along with that process. He persisted and, along with support from close friends and family, set up Winewood Organics using a microbusiness model. This meant they would “only sell products that were grown and produced on-site with our own hands.”
But shortly after Parkhurst was approved for a license to open a dispensary in Ann Arbor, the Covid-19 virus picked up momentum throughout the state of Michigan. Positive cases spiked. Knowing the potential for state mandates to halt commerce, political advocates for cannabis use began asking lawmakers to recognize the need for dispensaries to stay open.
Robin Schneider, executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MiCIA), wrote a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer letting her know how necessary cannabis was to Michigan users. In it, she pointed out that “Studies have shown that cannabis can reduce anxiety and stress and we believe continued access to this product during this time is pertinent. More importantly, patients with cancer, AIDS, chronic pain, seizures, and pediatric patients have reduced or replaced pharmaceuticals, including opiates, with medical cannabis.”
Schneider was heard, and on March 23rd, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer further legitimized Michigan’s cannabis industry by classifying dispensaries as essential businesses. Parkhurst celebrated the news and continued to plan the dispensary addition.
But, there was a problem. To prevent the spread of Covid, Governor Whitmer ordered most other businesses to close and workers to “stay home, stay safe.” Parkhurst explained that even though he had been approved to sell his products, “inspections and licenses were delayed because of Covid, so that was a hurdle that set us back, because all of the dispensaries had been licensed within the last couple of years. So, people had their places set up before the first mandates shut everything down.”
The only choice was to focus on growing and production while he waited for mandates to lift. He says they “went into full scale production mode” and made the most of the time they had to grow and process. They decided to hire extra help so they would have plenty of product ready for when the dispensary opened.
But now that they wanted to hire people, the big question was whether or not people wanted to work. Some people didn’t feel safe enough to work using a mask and social distancing guidelines. Others liked the time out from work all together, and they were able to stay home with the support of government assistance that was offered because of the pandemic. Employment was becoming a whole new challenge for all businesses owners regardless of their size, and Parkhurst assumed Winewood Organics would be affected as well.
Parkhurst thought they “might have a few responses if we were lucky.” But, he took a chance anyway and posted an ad on Indeed. To his surprise, he had 55 applicants on the first day–500 after a week. And that wasn’t the biggest surprise. With so many quality applicants to choose from, Winewood Organics gained employees who were skilled in industries that were scaling back, such as kitchens and restaurants. They also hired an engineer who seized the opportunity to make a complete career change. He simply wanted to work in an industry he felt passionate about. Kim Smith was one of the people hired from the Indeed post. She welcomed me in for the interview and we chatted while she tidied up the store front and opened the store for the day.
During our interview in the office, Parkhurst pulled out a set of binders that were bursting with photos and data. As he explained how terpenes create the flavors in cannabis, he told me that Smith is a Harvard graduate turned edible chef and that her knowledge and skill with combining flavors quickly earned her the nickname “The Terpene Queen.” True to her academic background, Smith compiled the binders Parkhurst was holding, which contained profiles of every plant he grows, including its history all the way back to its mother plant. This allows Parkhurst to be very intentional about the flower buds that are produced from each strain. He explained that when it comes to customizing cannabis, “It’s all in the genetics, so the better we grow it, the more cannabinoids that are produced by the plant. We can’t manipulate the flower once it’s out. It’s a matter of growing it with precision.”
While describing why precision is so crucial when growing medical cannabis, Parkhurst brought up a customer who has Multiple Sclerosis. She regularly buys a flower strain that he grows to help with appetite and sleep. He added, “When you have the mother plant, you can keep a profile that is specific and reliable, which is especially important when growing for someone with a chronic illness.” She is only one example of the many individuals he grows for. I noted that his dedication to growing healthy, organic plants has a lot to do with wanting to provide a reliable and natural remedy for the people who depend on his plants.
When running a business, there has to be a financial focus as well. Parkhurst has a microbusiness license, which means that his company will “only sell what we plant, grow, trim, and pack with our own hands.” It also means they are only allowed to grow 150 plants at a time. So, each plant is critical to keeping Winewood Organics operating. One stipulation of having a seller’s license is that products are tested for safety and accuracy. We left the office and walked to an area where a scientist from a local lab had arrived to do just that.
Parkhurst showed me large bags of freshly dried marijuana buds and stacks of edible trays, and he pointed out that, “Testing is expensive and it’s important to grow a lot and have it ready for the tests. That’s an Issue with being a small business, because corporate growers have more money and more plants growing at the same time than we do.” He added that there are only a few dispensaries left in the area that haven’t been bought up by a big cannabis company.
As I listened to Parkhurst, I thought about the supply chain shortage that was impacting the country directly because of the pandemic. I remembered the last time I stopped at a drive thru with my daughters. My girls complained about how long it was taking to get the food that would have taken a few minutes to get pre-Covid. The restaurant chain was short staffed, and they were out of several familiar items we asked for because their suppliers simply could not provide them at the moment. They either didn’t have anyone to grow the products, or they didn’t have anyone to transport them. I wondered about how the larger cannabis companies might have been impacted by the supply chain shortage.
After our interview, Smith walked me to the front of the store where she showed me the variety of products that began as plants in the same building where they were being sold. I said my goodbyes and noticed I had just enough time to grab a quick snack before my next appointment. But instead of stopping at a chain where the wait might make me late, I reached into a bag I had packed ahead of time. By now I knew it wasn’t a guarantee that I could access the conveniences I once had before the Covid-19 pandemic. And I realized that with so much uncertainty surrounding the virus strains, now more than ever we need companies like Winewood Organics. Companies that are self-reliant and locally owned and know what it means to provide for a clientele that needs them even in the worst of circumstances, even if that circumstance is a global pandemic.
