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“When it arrived on Saturday, there was a lineup at -26 Celsius,” he said.

On a Thursday or payday Friday, the store serves as many as 1,000 customers, said staff.

Mooij said northwest applicants probably didn’t make the head of the licensing queue.

The northwest store’s assistant manager, Lise Weinberger, said retailers likely placed a priority on inner-city locations perceived to be prime spots rather than more far-flung places like Sage Hill.

“Maybe the focus was on the more downtown stores, the more hip stores,” she said.

But many outlets in other quadrants of Calgary are also in suburban areas.

Last Thursday afternoon, the pace of business at the Sage Hill store may not have been frantic, but it was a stream that barely let up.

“It’s a slow day,” said Weinberger.

Customer Tom Murphy said he comes all the way from Bragg Creek to pick up a supply of high-THC sativa at the Sage Hill store due to easy access on highways.

“I’ve been here a couple of times and it’s been sold out,” said Murphy, 75.

Another customer said the store is busier than others he’s patronized but added it’s all relative.

“This one is the only one that ever has a lineup, but it’s not a Starbucks kind of turnover,” said Mike, who wouldn’t give his last name.

Most cannabis consumers, he said, still purchase their bud from black market providers because of their lower prices and often use licensed stores to supplement their supply.

City regulators have given municipal approval to about three dozen other cannabis stores in the northwest but most of those are stalled due to the AGLC-imposed moratorium on cannabis retail licences.