Apotheca. 2018 to 2019, and since. Founder-level builder.
A dozen head shops became over sixty stores.
Apotheca is the retail brand, concept, and operating model I built from the ground up, turning a tired smoke-shop chain into a multi-state plant-medicine retailer that now runs over 60 stores.
The work.
Each slot is labeled with the asset that goes in it.
The results
- Built the entire Apotheca concept and brand from a blank page starting in 2018, then opened 5 locations (3 retail stores and 2 farmers-market operations), all live by the end of 2019.
- Every one of those original markets is still active today. Two of the three retail markets, Asheville and Charlotte, have each since grown into multiple stores.
- The concept and operating model I created has since scaled to over 60 Apotheca locations across four states: North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina.
- Sourced 40-plus brands and suppliers, hired and trained 30-plus staff, and wrote the complete operating playbook the business still runs on.
The starting point
Hookah Hookup was a chain of about a dozen stores across three states: a conventional head shop selling bongs, papers, and Bob Marley posters. The concept had not been meaningfully updated in over a decade. Staff were underpaid and unmotivated, the stores carried no real differentiation, and there was no clear path to adapt as demand shifted toward hemp, CBD, and wellness.
What I built
I rebuilt the business end to end and gave it a new identity: Apotheca. That covered the name, the logo, the website, and the interior design of every store, along with the staffing model, uniforms, a code of ethics, supplier relationships, sourcing standards, and every internal SOP.
The store design traded head-shop clutter for an apothecary feel: natural light wood, curated wall displays, an education table stocked with reference books, and product presented as remedies rather than paraphernalia.
On the operations side I sourced 40-plus brands and suppliers across tinctures, skin care, raw flower, lip balm, essential oils, supplements, and smoking accessories, hired and trained 30-plus team members, and wrote every SOP and policy the company needed across supply chain, back of house, and front of house: a complete operating plan for the whole business.
The five-location proof
I ran the build through the first five locations: retail stores in Burlington, Asheville, and Cornelius, North Carolina, plus farmers-market operations in the Winston-Salem and Charlotte areas. Every one of those markets is still active today, and Asheville and Charlotte have each expanded into multiple stores.
Where it stands today
The brand and operating model I built has since scaled to over 60 Apotheca locations across North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. The concept proved durable and repeatable far beyond the footprint I started with.
My role.
Founder-level builder. I owned the concept, brand, and full build, and carried it through to sourcing, supplier and customer relationships, and daily operations. My partner Lee brought retail experience, capital, and some distribution assets and processes.
The solutions this draws on: Branding, Business development.
Start with the free call.
Sixty minutes. I'll tell you what I'd do and what I think it's worth. Within 48 hours you get a written playbook you can run with or without me.