Eric LattaEric Latta took his first job in recreational cannabis at Buddy’s in Renton, Washington, in 2014. Eleven years later, he returned to the store to help rebrand it into Kush21, the state’s largest cannabis retail chain, which Latta helped build from one to 15 stores during the past eight years.
“It was such a positive opportunity to take on the store which is almost like my alma mater,” he says. “Even getting to work with some of my old coworkers who are still there, that was a really cool milestone.”
Kush21 is one of the very few Washington-based companies to branch out into other state markets. The retail chain opened its first store in Illinois last year and recently passed inspections to begin operating in Missouri. The company is also planning an expansion into Maryland as a vertically integrated business.
“We’re working closely with our partners here in Washington to help build outside the state,” Latta says. “We’re looking at all the emerging markets and trying to get licenses in the states that make sense.”
Latta joined Kush21 in 2017 and has worked in nearly every position at the company. Prior to joining the industry, he worked as a ski instructor and in the hospitality industry. He says those experiences proved to be invaluable in his transition to cannabis retail because they have overlapping challenges such as onboarding, employee retention and staffing.
“It teaches you to be versatile,” he says. “It’s all about building relationships. It’s account managing and paying attention to trends in the industry because everything is kind of cyclical.”