The first private cannabis retail store in Kamloops will be opening its doors tomorrow.

“It seems like it’s been forever. I can’t believe that we’re coming to the point of opening our doors to the public,” said Chris Lyth, who’s the store owner.

The Shore Cannabiz Shop is on 399 Tranquille Road on the Kamloops North Shore.

Lyth says it’s hard to say what kind of a turnout they’ll see at 9 AM tomorrow.

“The government store, that was the official first day of legal cannabis in Canada,” he said. “I think that was a little bit different.”

“Obviously, as a business owner we hope that everybody comes down and takes a look at our store but we’ll be open moving forward from tomorrow on.”

Lyth says he got the approval from the province about a month ago, and since then they’ve been bringing in product and hiring staff ahead of the grand opening.

He says they’re going to try their best to be as competitive as possible with the government store in the city.

“One this thing that you’re going to notice about us is that we’re a family business and staff are friendly, they are knowledgeable,” he said. “We put a lot of effort into product training and knowledge.”

“I’m also very big on the community so we’ll be reaching out when we can to help the community and  given back.

Cannabis was legalized in Canada on October 17, 2018, with just the one government store open in Kamloops.

To date, the province has issued licences to 14 private retailers, including one in Salmon Arm.