Discerning cannabis and coffee lovers can get their design fix at Toronto’s new lifestyle store Tokyo Smoke.
Located on the city’s Queen Street West, Tokyo Smoke is the brainchild of father-and-son duo Alan and Lorne Gertner, and its flagship store marries contemporary interiors by DesignAgency with high-end smoking accessories and artisanal coffee.
‘Tokyo Smoke wasn’t to be a Bob Marley-inspired head shop, or one of the many illegal dispensaries, but instead a home to the creative class,’ says Alan Gertner, an ex-Google Asia executive.
The store features cork-tiled walls and a cool concrete coffee bar. Custom fixtures and furnishings have been designed in black and neutral shades by DesignAgency, which also crafted the interiors of the city’s Soho House outpost and opulent Art Deco eatery Leña Restaurante.
‘Our goal was an elegant, elevated environment where people can hang out whether they’re into cannabis or not,’ says studio principal Anwar Mekhayech. ‘The space is almost a blank canvas for the merchandise.’
Beans come courtesy of Toronto-based Pilot Coffee, while other wares include crystal gemstone pipes, soft leather pouches, clothing and candles.
Cannabis is set to be legalised across Canada in July 2018, and the Gertners are looking to roll out Tokyo Smoke outposts in nearby Hamilton, Seattle and Calgary, among other locations.
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