Canadian Coffee Chain to Operate Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries and Lounges

NAC will apply for licenses to dispense cannabis products and upon receipt, work with Second Cup and applicable franchisees to leverage Second Cup's extensive Canadian retail footprint to construct retail stores carrying leading cannabis products. Image: Second Cup Coffee Co.

OTTAWA -- National Access Cannabis Corp. (NAC), Canada's best practices leader in delivering secure, safe and responsible access to legal cannabis, and The Second Cup Ltd., Canada's second-largest retailer of speciality coffee, announced that they have established a strategic alliance to develop and operate a network of NAC-branded recreational cannabis dispensaries initially across Western Canada, expanding to include additional provinces where legally permissible.

Also read, Research Firm Exploring the Effects of Legalized Cannabis on Adult Beverage, Foodservice.

NAC will apply for licenses to dispense cannabis products and upon receipt, work with Second Cup and applicable franchisees to leverage Second Cup's extensive Canadian retail footprint to construct retail stores carrying leading cannabis products, including products supplied by CannaRoyalty Corp., California's largest legal distributor of cannabis products. Conversion of any Second Cup café to an NAC-branded recreational cannabis dispensary will be conditional on obtaining a retail license from provincial regulators and the approval of Second Cup and the applicable franchisee and landlord.

"With exceptional quality real estate located across Canada, our alliance with Second Cup will offer consumers access to quality cannabis products and the superior service in the comfortable setting they've come to expect from NAC," said Mark Goliger, Chief Executive Officer of National Access Cannabis. "This relationship allows us to quickly expand our footprint in proven high-traffic retail locations across Canada. With an initial focus on Western Canada, we'll look to work with Second Cup to license select storefronts, utilizing our proven business model to deliver secure, safe, and responsible access."

"NAC has developed a strong reputation as a leading operator in the cannabis industry. This strategic relationship provides Second Cup with a great opportunity to leverage our select real estate assets to increase value for shareholders and franchisee partners. At the same time, we remain focused on growing our Second Cup brand and sales through continued product innovation and expanding our network across Canada," said Garry Macdonald, Second Cup's President & CEO.

In consideration of Second Cup agreeing to enter into this strategic alliance, NAC has issued to Second Cup warrants to purchase an aggregate of 5,000,000 common shares of the Company. The warrants have an exercise price of $0.91 per common share and expire on April 12, 2023. The issuance of the warrants remains subject to requisite regulatory approval, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. 

SOURCE National Access Cannabis Corp.