toyko smoke yonge

Toronto cannabis store inside former HMV on Yonge is about to open

The fourth out of five retail cannabis stores in Toronto is incredibly close to opening — in fact, if all goes well, it could launch tomorrow, just in time for the weekend.

Tokyo Smoke's massive new weed store near Yonge-Dundas Square could open as early as tomorrow, according to a representative for Canopy Growth Corporation, which owns Tokyo Smoke (and a whole bunch of other Canadian weed brands).

The store at 333 Yonge Street will be housed in what used to be Canada's largest HMV record store. That iconic flagship location and sometimes party venue shut down in 2017 after a solid 30 years.

Tokyo Smoke, founded pre-legalization in 2015 as an "educational" cannabis-adjacent brand and cafe, already boasts several locations around the city, none of which currently sell weed thanks to the whole "25 retail store cap" thing.

Whether they get the green light to open tomorrow or a few days after that, Toyko Smoke had better hope it can launch before May 1. At that point, the company will lose the entire $50,000 line of credit it had to put up as penalty for not opening within one month of April 1.

Lead photo by

Greg's Southern Ontario


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