'It's a lot of one thing': 11 cannabis retailers open — or in progress — in downtown Kitchener

On weekends, Alex Kinsella and his family like to walk through downtown Kitchener, window shopping and stopping every now and then for a coffee or treat. 

But in the last year, he's been struck by just how many downtown stores seem to be selling the same thing: cannabis. 

It's especially noticeable on King Street, where there are five cannabis stores authorized to open — and a sixth that's still in the public notice stage — within a roughly two-block area, between Ontario Street and College Street.

"It's a lot of one thing," said Kinsella, a freelance writer.

In total, there are 11 cannabis stores in downtown Kitchener — between the boundaries of Weber Street and Joseph Street, and Victoria Street and Cedar Street — that are either open already or whose applications are in progress.

Sarah Marsh is the city councillor for Ward 10, which covers about half the downtown area. 

"It's a little bit surprising to me that a business owner … would want to open the third, fourth, fifth, tenth or more cannabis shop within such a short distance," Marsh said. "I don't understand how they will all be able to survive." 

Sarah Wilner, an associate professor of marketing at Wilfrid Laurier University, expects some of the region's cannabis shops will end up closing. 

While it remains to be seen how much appetite there is for cannabis retail in Waterloo region, Wilner said there seems to be "a profusion that doesn't probably quite match the patterns of consumption." 

"How they filter out will be interesting," Wilner said. 

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) website says there are 37 cannabis stores in Kitchener that are open or have applied to open. There are 22 in Waterloo and 17 in Cambridge that are open now or are still in the application process. 

In comparison, there are a total of 15 LCBOs in the three cities combined, the crown corporation's press office said.

Whether a store survives or shutters could depend on if it manages to set itself apart from the competition, Wilner said.

That's the hope for Stash & Co., one of the newest stores to open up along King Street downtown.