Cannabis retailer Goldleaf plans Florida expansion
The Annapolis, Maryland-based company is preparing to bring a second cultivation center online since it received its license to operate in the Sunshine State just under two years ago, according to Senior VP of Retail Michael Tese, who is leading Goldleaf’s expansion in Florida.
The new 50,000 square-foot indoor cultivation facility in Bradenton is slated to produce its first crop by mid-November, and it will also function as a distribution hub for the greater Tampa Bay region down the Gulf Coast to Naples, Tese said. Another distribution hub in Pompano Beach is prepared to open in the next handful of months once the Bradenton facility is fully operational, he said.
Goldleaf’s initial Florida facility in Mount Dora covers 240,000 square feet, which includes around 160,000 square feet for cultivation, space for processing and packaging, and an extraction facility.
The company recently opened its first retail storefront in Sebring, and it has its sights on this region next, Tese said. In addition to Tampa, Goldleaf has leased retail spaces in Orlando where it's designing 8,000-square-foot cannabis “superstores.”
“Florida is a very competitive state for cannabis,” Tese said. “You have 22 of the largest companies in the industry here, and they have a lot of funding behind them.”
