ROCHESTER — Hempire customers seeking low-dose hemp products at its 3135 Superior Drive NW location last Saturday faced an unexpected added level of security as the store quietly shifted to selling cannabis.

“We did not announce it anywhere, except I think on our Facebook page,” Hempire owner Shelly Buchanan said Thursday of the transition that’s been in the works since the company became one of 14 retail dispensaries registered by Olmsted County to solely sell recreational cannabis.

She said the low-key effort was to help ensure systems were operating properly and new staff members were comfortable with established protocols to meet state and local requirements related to cannabis sales.

“I did not want people to come in and have a bad experience or have expectations until we have this down,” she said.

Green Goods, 3456 East Circle Drive, became the county’s
first legal outlet for recreational cannabis in September
, using a state-issued medical cannabis combination business license to expand on its existing medical sales, but Hempire is the first state-licensed dispensary to undergo the county’s selection process related to businesses seeking to focus on sales for recreation use, which was made possible through 2023 legislation.

The county’s selection process, which
capped the related dispensaries at 14,
included a lottery to select eight licensed microbusinesses, four businesses with retail licenses and two mezzobusinesses.

As a licensed microbusiness, Hempire can buy, sell and grow cannabis at a single location in the state. The county registration allows the business to open its location in Olmsted County.

The store, which started by selling low-dose hemp and vaping products, initially ended up on the
losing side of an Aug. 7, 2025, county lottery
and became an alternate. As some winning companies shifted plans, Hempire’s transition opportunity arose.

Buchanan, who said she’s spent thousands of dollars in legal and construction costs during the change, said one of the biggest requirements has been related to security.

Customers are now required to show identification at a front desk, where it’s scanned to confirm the potential buyer’s age. From there, one of the store’s “budtenders” greets customers to take them to the secure area of the store, where sales are made.

“Everyone who goes beyond the secure door is with a budtender,” Buchanan said, noting that a single budtender can work with a group of customers, but each person must show ID to confirm they are eligible to make a potential purchase.

While the focus of the store has shifted to the sale of cannabis, Buchanan said it continues to sell a variety of low-dose hemp products, but has needed to shift away from nicotine-based products, due to state regulations.

For now, all products, including those with nicotine, sold before the Superior Drive store’s transition are still being sold at the Hempire Hemp and Vape Shoppe at 600 11th Ave. NW for people not wanting to go through the added security efforts.

Since Buchanan’s state cannabis license doesn’t allow her to own a second location selling low-dose hemp products, she’s split ownership of the two stores. She owns the cannabis outlet under the name Hempire, while ownership of Hempire Hemp and Vape Shoppe was transferred to her husband, who also owns the attached Northgate Chiropractic Clinic.

Buchanan said the fate of the non-cannabis outlet will likely depend on future legislative action, since current rules are slated to create issues that could close the 11th Avenue shop next year.

While Hempire is the first cannabis dispensary to undergo the county’s lottery process and open its doors, Olmsted County Environmental Health Manager Cody Miller said he anticipates seeing more locations opening by early May.

At that point, businesses that have secured a county registration will need to seek a 90-day extension for opening or see their spot transferred to one of four alternates that have submitted applications for registration.