After quiet opening, Port Huron's second marijuana shop plans to celebrate

For folks at Moses Roses, the prospect of opening around Saturday, April 20 — the 4/20 date widely recognized for enjoying marijuana products recreationally — was just too good to pass up.

“We had to. We only got a third of our products in by Friday, but I didn’t care,” General Manager Rodney Sedlar said late Friday, nearly a week after the soft opening. “Like, ‘We cannot miss out on this.’ That’s the holiest— it’s our Black Friday. So, we had to get open.”

Moses Roses marks Port Huron’s second marijuana shop to open its doors this year after JARS Cannabis downtown. Perched at 1600 Pine Grove Ave. in the old circular, dome-shaped Ernest Camera Shoppe building, Sedlar said they’ve seen a variety of new customers and curious passers-by with a quiet rollout.

Still, without a formal announcement, they’ve also flown a little under the radar.

Now, Sedlar said their full range of products is coming in with what he called “something for everybody in every category and every price range” — be it concentrates, pre-rolls, loose flower, or edibles.

And they planned a bigger opening celebration on Saturday, May 4.

“May the fourth be with you,” he said with a laugh, referring to the date often associated with “Star Wars” fans and the proverbial “Force” from the series. “It’s kind of a burner holiday, as well, so I’m going to have food trucks and a DJ back here on Saturday. Now that we’re going to have all of our products … and start with our deals posted every day. That’s going to start tomorrow.”

What does Moses Roses entail?

The interior of the new shop retains a big part of the old bank and camera shop site familiar to long-time Port Huron residents.

Although curbside pickup for online orders was set, Sedlar said other things key to the rehabilitated site’s new occupant like a drive-thru opening and turning its old vault into a selfie spot were still in the works.

The Moses Roses merchandise is displayed in a single, circular area in the building with a general reception area where customers can sign in and await being brought back.

Since opening, Sedlar said, “Our biggest seller has honestly been pre-rolls because it’s the easiest, most convenient thing you can pick up and grab. We do have a large selection of stuff, but at the same time, most people just wanted to get in and see the building … which I welcome that, too.”

“Everyone is so excited that this building is open again,” he added. “And it’s actually something they can come in and see. This floor itself, it was covered up with a carpet for 50 years. Like there’s so much nostalgia in this building that we just wanted to be part of it.”

While working with customers, where pre-rolls were displayed, budtender Mike Vogel agreed they’d been an early popular purchase. “That and gummies,” he said. “People like their gummies.”

Elsewhere were other edibles, concentrates, tinctures, syrups, body rubs, and chocolate bars.

Customer Jeremy Chalut, of Port Sanilac, said he was in Port Huron on Friday for an appointment and saw Moses Roses was open driving by.

In the past, he visited marijuana establishments in Vassar or Cairo but said he planned to come back to Moses Roses. On Friday, he left with CBD gummies, adding he was glad he’d an option that was a little closer.

“I’m not a person who really enjoys being high. It’s just a matter of sleep. And then, like I said, I do physical work. Like today, I’m sore after work,” Chalut said. “So, I go home. When I’m relaxing, I take a gummy or two, chill, and I sleep really well.”

Moses Roses, 1600 Pine Grove Ave., is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily in Port Huron with other locations in southwest Detroit, Lincoln Park, and Waterford. For more information, visit www.mosesroses.com.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: After quiet opening, Port Huron's second marijuana shop plans to celebrate