The mayor of Forest Lake and his brother plan to expand the family’s longtime floral business into a new kind of horticulture: cannabis.
Blake and Kelly Roberts, the third-generation owners of Lakes Floral Gift & Garden, last year received a preliminary state license and city approval to open what is expected to be the city’s first cannabis dispensary and one of the first in Washington County.
The Greenhouse Cannabis Company, the city’s first licensed adult-use recreational cannabis retail store, will be located in the same building as the floral shop at 508 Lake St. S. It is expected to open in mid-April.
The Robertses’ grandfather, Harold Waldo, started selling vegetables commercially in Forest Lake in 1930; he later expanded to cut flowers, Blake Roberts said.
“In many ways, this is a natural extension of our family’s work with plants and horticulture — just in a new and emerging industry,” Blake Roberts said.
Blake Roberts (Courtesy of Roberts)
Roberts, who has been mayor of Forest Lake since January 2025, said he was out of town when the measure came before the Forest Lake City Council last summer; the council voted 4-0 to approve it. Since he and his brother started to think about opening the shop, he has abstained from all votes on anything cannabis-related before the council and removed himself from council chambers during any discussions, he said.
“I understand the perception that someone in my position might get a first shot at a (cannabis) license like that, but that just was not the case,” he said. “I worked with city legal staff to ensure that everything has been done above board, and that city staff were comfortable with me moving forward into this industry, and that I was being fully transparent.”
One of three
In accordance with state law and city ordinance, Forest Lake, population 20,700, is allowed to issue one cannabis business registration per 12,500 residents, as determined by the most recent state demographer’s estimate. The cap on registrations does not apply to a medical cannabis combination business or a lower-potency hemp edible retailer.
The Forest Lake City Council in October increased the cap on the number of cannabis retail locations allowed in the city from two to three, and the city has issued three interim-use permits. The other two locations are Smokey Oaks at 115 Lake St. N., in downtown Forest Lake, and Forest Lake Cannabis at 1467 Lake St. S., across from Forest Lake City Hall.
The Greenhouse Cannabis Company expects to begin cannabis sales in April within an approximately 2,200-square-foot section of the existing retail building.
“Our goal is to create a high-end retail experience that focuses on educating consumers about this now-legal product for both medical and recreational use,” Roberts said. “We want the store to have a boutique feel, similar to the customer service you get in our floral store, where customers feel comfortable asking questions and learning about the products available to them.”
City code allows for retail cannabis operations within the city’s commercial, agricultural, business and mixed-use districts, but an interim-use permit must be obtained for zoning compliance.
The city’s distance requirements, which are identical to the city’s alcohol and tobacco restrictions, state that there must be 500 feet between cannabis businesses, and that cannabis businesses must be at least 500 feet from a school, commercial day care or residential treatment facility. They also must be at least 500 feet from an attraction within a public park that is regularly used by minors, such as a playground, athletic field, athletic court, picnic area or restrooms, pavilion or park building.
Lakeside Memorial Park in downtown Forest Lake is excluded from the distance requirements due to the close proximity of downtown to the park, according to city officials.
Older clientele expected
Greenhouse Cannabis still needs to get the final OK from the state Office of Cannabis Management to open. The store’s final plans of record were submitted last month, and the approval process, which includes a final inspection, could take anywhere from two to four weeks, Roberts said.
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Feedback has been positive, he said, “especially from people in the older generation who are using it to self-medicate for aches and pains and sleeping.”
“They’re really pleased about being able to buy something here in Forest Lake, instead of having to drive someplace else,” he said.
Roberts said he does not plan to use the products the store will sell.
“That’s just not what I do,” he said. “We just saw an opportunity. With these mom-and-pop flower shops and any small business, you’ve got to constantly be reinventing yourself, otherwise you’re just going to fail.”
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