Hemp Store Buys Walker’s Point Building

The owners of Canni Hemp Company, Milwaukee’s first cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp specialty store, purchased the 142-year-old building in Walker’s Point that the business leases as part of a plan to create a community destination.

Canni (pronounced “can I”) was founded by Colin Plant in 2018 as a specialty store focused on serving Milwaukee’s creative community. Now Plant and his wife Megan Haug own the two-story, 2,558-square-foot building at 810 S. 5th St.

The store will begin to host live music and maker’s markets in the sizable outdoor space at the rear of the property. Plant, a musician and entrepreneur, envisions applying for a liquor license to facilitate his vision of developing a community destination.

“I want to continue to find new ways to contribute to the neighborhood and support the people living in my community,” said Plant in a press release announcing the acquisition. “We want to benefit our company, the local residents, as well as neighboring businesses.”

Canni offers a variety of legal cannabis, fungi and plant-based products, including tinctures, vaping products, gummies and topicals.

“Our target audience has always been creatives within our community,” said Plant in an interview. “Cannabis products for everybody is not a super sustainable model.”

CBD stores proliferated in recent years as a result of Wisconsin legalizing the hemp product’s sale and use in 2017. Canni seeks to differentiate itself in the crowded market by targeting a specific subset of the market, providing third-party tested products and a customer education component.

“Our customers often rely on us to filter out the inaccurate information that’s out there about the industry,” said Plant. “We want to offer more ways to responsibly educate our community about alternative and natural ways of dealing with things such as stress, anxiety and pain.”

He said the long-term tenure of the business’s four employees has also aided its success.

Plant and Haug purchased the property, which includes a second-story apartment, for $300,000 from a limited liability company led by David Herro.

Herro is a co-investor in The Block, a mixed-use redevelopment two buildings north at 425-431 W. National Ave. That project includes apartments and two event spaces, The George and Madcap Lounge.

Prior to Canni’s occupancy, the 810 building was home to Glamorosa Salon & Spa and Minelly’s Salon & Spa. According to Wisconsin Historical Society records, it was also previously home to T.V. Bargains.

A 1978 National Register of Historic Places nomination that covers much of the Walker’s Point neighborhood says the building was constructed in 1880. It was owned by William Michalowitz at the time of the report.

It was long owned by Jose G. Zarate, a real estate investor who has significant holdings in the area. But Zarate has sold a number of properties in recent years, including those which became two new apartment developments located with two blocks of Canni.

Canni isn’t the only growing CBD business in Milwaukee, or even the city’s South Side. Bay View-based Goodland Extracts announced the launch of its CBD seltzer last week.

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