Edible Brands opens its first THC retail store along Atlanta Beltline
A short stroll from the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail, a company known for fruit bouquets will sell a different type of edible: the intoxicating kind.
On Thursday, Sandy Springs-based Edible Brands, parent company of Edible Arrangements, opened the first retail store for its hemp-derived THC marketplace. Called Edibles.com, the venture launched last year online and now is expanding into a brick-and-mortar store.
The shop is on North Highland Avenue in Inman Park, near restaurant Delbar.
“We wanted something that was connected to a lot of activity, a lot of foot traffic,” said Thomas Winstanley, general manager and executive vice president of Edibles.com. The company signed a three-year lease, he said in an interview Thursday.
The store opens amid a dampening regulatory environment for hemp-derived THC.
The federal government passed legislation that essentially bans hemp products, set to take effect later this year. It was designed to close a so-called loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, the federal law that permitted the production and sale of hemp products with less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight.
This November, hemp products such as drinks and gummies would be limited to 0.4 milligrams of total THC per package. But advocates are lobbying in hopes of changing that outcome.
Winstanley is among them.
If the ban takes effect, the new Atlanta store couldn’t sell any of the products on its shelves today. But Edibles.com has contingency plans, he said, and would continue to exist.
“I don’t think this discussion is over by a long shot, and timing is going to be the biggest question,” Winstanley said, adding he’s traveling to the nation’s capital and educating lawmakers. “November may come, but that does not mean the end. It means we have to figure out another alternative way to get this back up.”
Winstanley said he believes there is a pathway, as a ban could wipe out what he called a $28 billion industry, affecting farmers and thousands of jobs.
“We’re committed to being a voice of reason on what a framework at a federal level can look like,” he said. “We all know prohibition does not repeal demand. It forces it into the black market, and the black market is where the consumer health threat is.”
Traditional marijuana remains illegal for recreational purposes under federal laws and statutes in many states, including Georgia. But hemp-derived THC products have exploded across the country, especially as more consumers ditch alcohol.
Georgia lawmakers this year attempted to clamp down on synthetic hemp products, but ultimately advanced legislation to expand access to medical cannabis, with a bill currently awaiting the governor’s signature.
The state in 2024 passed a law that put some guardrails around the hemp industry, including limiting sales to consumers over age 21 and mandating product testing.
Edibles.com doesn’t offer inhalables, such as vapes or flower, and it groups products by benefit — sleep, relax, uplift or energy. Inside the new store is the motto: “health not high.”
The store features brands such as Cann, a maker of THC-infused flavored sparkling water, and gummy brand Wana, as well as Atlanta-based Scofflaw Brewing, which produces THC-infused drinks. Customers must be 21 or older with a valid ID.
“We believe hemp retail can and should operate with transparency, education and consumer protection at its core,” Somia Farid Silber, CEO of Edible Brands, said in a news release. “This store reflects our long-term commitment to building this category the right way — for consumers, communities and the industry.”
— Staff writers Caleb Groves and Mirtha Donastorg contributed to this report.
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