Higher Leaf, Kirkland Washington
MRR sees if Higher Leaf in Kirkland makes the grade
Store Name: Higher Leaf
Store Location: 12525 Willows Road NE, Suite 10. Kirkland, WA 98034
Store Website: www.HigherLeaf.com
Washington State is home to many fine cannabis retail operations, and Higher Leaf in Kirkland helps hammer down that notion. Check-in is as easy as showing your ID and then joining the queue for which snakes through the store towards the counter.
The store is clean, with simple design aesthetics that match the hometown charm of the Pacific Northwest. Brightly lit and inviting, Higher Leaf also has menus located at the entrance which allows patrons to read and gather information while they are in line in order to avoid hold up at the counter by asking for exactly what you are interested in seeing.
The consumer flow through the store also brought people by display cases which contained some of their ancillary products for sale. The methodology to capture sales before reaching the counter is a method underutilized in most dispensary design choices unfortunately.
Getting to the counter on a busy night took about 7-10 minutes, which gave ample time to browse the available menu before reaching the front and when I got there, more pleasant surprises were to be had. Higher Leaf maintains all of their store facing inventory in easily marked bins and the budtenders had no problem finding strains in a snap when asked.
The inventory was extremely well stocked, and they had full diversification of their menu for every type of consumer/patient ranging from flower to concentrates, tinctures to edibles, and pre-rolls to vape cartridges with everything in-between. There were several budtenders on staff all working simultaneously to keep patient flow smooth. Staff core training was done well, however, some of the staff had a couple issues with some strain genetics information and resources weren’t readily available to feed them that information.
I was very happy with the quality of the products they chose to stock and from what each individual budtender had tried they were more than willing to give advice on. Each of the strains I inspected were top quality and came in proper packaging with information clearly labeled. I was also pleased to see plenty of CBD products stocked at Higher Leaf. As a sativa fan, I ended up settling on Lemon Meringue and also decided to try the hybrid Jack White which I can say with all honesty I was was more than pleased with both of my selections.
Higher Leaf is cash only, but there is an ATM on site for easy access. The items were packaged up promptly in a very clean and sturdy handled bag which was branded with the Higher Leaf logo. Consumer outflow was smooth as well and there didn’t seem to be much crowding at the door. A great experience overall and I look back to returning when I am next in the greater Seattle area.
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– TOP MARKS –
- Design – Top notch design with a Pacific Northwest vibe
- Staff – Friendly and inviting staff makes the sale easy
- Flow – Patient flow was easy with roped walkways
- Price – Price range was good and varied offering something for everyone
- Strains – Strain diversification is key, and Higher Leaf offered a variety from all species in all price ranges
– BOTTOM MARKS –
- Knowledge – Budtender strain knowledge on their products was lacking with the budtender I questioned. Did not know strain linage of a well known variant nor what that particular strain was good for.
- Nose / Busy – During high volume times it can get loud and hard to tell which budtender is open and when. There is no host at the end of the line directing you which budtender to go to.
MRR Rating – 9.37 / 10
MRR conducts its reviews independent of the shops / accessories / lounges knowledge in a secret shopper format. MRR is neither paid nor has otherwise received any incentive by the shop / accessory / lounge to review them. They are not informed of the review either prior to, during, or after and cannot have the review edited for any reason other than provable inaccuracy. The reviews are unbiased by design and contain a 31 point inspection of the store during the review. The cannabis is purchased by the reviewer and is not paid for by the shop nor is the reviewer reimbursed by the shop for the review. The products selected for purchase are purchased at random based on variable criteria, and are meant to spot check the dispensary.
