Customers on Monday wait to enter The Fire Station, downtown Marquette’s first cannabis retail store. The business is located at 351 W. Washington St. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

MARQUETTE — The Fire Station, downtown Marquette’s first provisioning center, opened on Monday with brisk business and waiting lines.

The occasion marked the opening of the locally owned business’s second location, having opened the first Fire Station at 162 Heritage Drive in Negaunee Township in November.

The Upper Peninsula-based cannabis retail company’s new location, which features a colorful lobby, is at 351 W. Washington St.

The Fire Station is the first cannabis retail store to open within the city of Marquette and is open to recreational customers age 21 and older.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime to be the first to market in any emerging market, but this is also something more because of the history of the product,” co-owner Logan Stauber said in a news release. “We have been working for years on different fronts to make this happen — going to city council meetings, planning commission meetings and voting. There’s been an especially hard push for this to happen since 2017.”

Co-owner Stosh Wasik said in news release that keeping The Fire Station local is “incredibly important” to the business with its ownership, employees and operations.

“It feels surreal that so many generations have been victimized for marijuana and now we have the opportunity to actually be a part of that community and business legally,” Wasik said. “And then we can give back to our community that we grew up in.”

The Fire Station offers cannabis products with a wide variety of brands across Michigan. Flower, edibles, pre-rolls, concentrates and accessories are all available for order in store or online at 906fire.com.

Products include True North Confections grape soda gummies and TreeTown dark chocolate brownie squares.

T-shirts and other products are available at the Marquette store as well.

“One of the key differences is that if a store is owned by one of these larger companies that is vertically integrated,” Stauber said. “They are incentivized to push their own products. What’s beautiful about our store is that if the product isn’t good, we don’t have to carry it. We can carry the best of what is available from all brands across the board without any outside influence.”

The downtown Marquette location is expected to be the first expansion for The Fire Station. Plans already are underway for a Houghton location, with property being purchased August.

Wasik said they have deals in the works for more locations across the U.P., and they have their eyes on a few more outside of the region.

“We hope to be the largest retail name in the U.P. but also the goal is ease of access,” Stauber said. “We live in a remote region, and giving people ease of access is important so they don’t have to drive two or more hours to visit a store.”

Store general manager Tyler Hafendorfer had this comment on the store’s opening: “Hi, Mom. I can’t believe this is happening.”

Dakota Mimbs, a visitor from Byron, Georgia, said he looked up a cannabis store to patronize in Michigan.

He had planned to buy an eighth of an ounce at the store.

“It’s awesome,” Mimbs said. “It’s definitely wild.”

The Fire Station is Marquette will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, visit 906fire.com or email jeremy@906fire.com.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net