Terrapin Care Station sells dispensaries to focus on PA biz, keeps Boulder HQ

BOULDER — After a decade and a half of selling marijuana in Colorado, Terrapin Care Station, the Boulder-based branded cannabis-product manufacturer and operator of a chain of dispensaries, is offloading its Centennial State pot shops.

Terrapin, which helped blaze a trail for local cannabis businesses before and after recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado, will maintain its headquarters in Boulder, but is focusing its operational efforts on its growing business in Pennsylvania. 

“Terrapin’s products are found in every single dispensary in the state of Pennsylvania,” TCS communications director Peter Marcus told BizWest. And while Terrapin does not operate any dispensaries in the Keystone State, a recent adjustment to state law has opened the door for TCS to start the process of opening a trio of medical marijuana stores. 

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Additionally, Marcus said, Pennsylvania lawmakers may soon “take up recreational legislation, and there’s a lot of work to be done there. So we just felt that this was a market that is just coming into its own. …It’s just a massive opportunity for expansion for us, so we’re just focusing all of our attention there.”

Sun Theory Holding Co., a chain of dispensaries with locations in Salida, Durango, Aspen, Basalt, Edwards, Gunnison, Leadville and Vail, bought five Terrapin Care Station stores, including those in Boulder and Longmont. 

“This expansion in Colorado underscores our objective of aligning with businesses that have demonstrated sound business management, a commitment to customers, solid financials and an expanding market share potential. When you consider these criteria, Terrapin Care Station is an ideal fit,”  Sun Theory CEO Connor Oman said in a prepared statement. “We’re extremely happy to welcome Terrapin Care Station to the Sun Theory family of brands in Colorado.”

Under Sun Theory’s ownership, the newly acquired dispensaries will maintain the Terrapin Care Station branding.

Terrapin Care Station’s retail and cannabis-cultivation operation in Aurora will be sold in a separate deal to new-to-the-game dispensary company Best Buds, which will use its own branding at the former Terrapin location.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed. 

“Terrapin’s legacy will always be rooted in Colorado. We will look back fondly on the past 15 years as a foundational time trailblazing what has become a global industry,” TCS CEO Chris Woods said in a prepared statement. “We’re thrilled that these new partnerships allow Terrapin’s legacy to live on in the state and we’re very much looking forward to our next era in this industry focused on expanded cannabis reform in Pennsylvania. This isn’t goodbye for Terrapin as a company; we’re simply announcing a new chapter.”