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SEPTEMBER 2026 | ISSUE 316 PUBLISHED BY HEADQUEST INTERNATIONAL LLC

HQ Magazine

President Nicole Gilmer

As the industry’s leading publication for over two decades, we want to remind you all that we are more than just another magazine; WE are the nexus of commerce for the counterculture marketplace; headshops, smoke shops, vape shops, adult novelties, and dispensaries. Both publisher and platform, HQ exists to facilitate the continued evolution of a once-marginalized industry now on the cusp of legitimization. As a publisher, we are your advocate and your advisor, your continual stream of all information that matters to you; from product knowledge, to business insights, to how it all fits into the panorama of the bigger world. As a platform, we are your connection. We are the bullhorn, the billboard, and the bridge; the perfect bullseye of your target market. And as this industry continues to come into its own and navigate the coming seismic shifts in the landscape, we’ll be the light to guide its steps.

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HQ Experience HQ Magazine, the industry’s longest-running publication, remains committed to serving the smoke shop community. With an unwavering dedication to delivering award-winning content, and relevant news and providing insight into the latest and greatest industry products, HQ will continue to seek out the best way to reach as many subscribers as possible. With HQ’s recent acquisition, the tides are turning and we know that YOU are ready for something new, something BIG. If you are looking for an upgraded experience, join HQ’s Elite membership program by scanning the QR code below. With each membership, you will receive HQ Magazine each month with no service interruptions, free access to HQ’s digital magazine, exclusive offers from our advertisers, and periodic sample boxes from the industry’s most trusted brands. Upgrade your experience today!

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Contributing Writers Matt Weeks Jimmy Wohl Joe Reefer Emily Long Karen Maina We welcome feedback! If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please email us at marketing@headquest.com. HEADQUEST INTERNATIONAL LLC. assumes no responsibility for contents herein. Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the writer. Published monthly by HeadQuest Magazine, PO BOX 13363, Toledo, Ohio, 43613. Send address change requests (please include information from the shipping label) to the address above, call 505-275-6049, or email subscriptions@headquest.com.

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HeadQuest

TABLE OF CONTENTS 10

women in cannabis

versatile and affordable atm and POS services

the other side of shakedown street

don't fear the creeper

Is store decor important?

How To Maximize Displays

Katie Motta

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what to do during an inspection

party nuts

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party

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EdQuest

Don’t Fear the Creeper How to Maximize POS Displays

BY M ATT W E E K S

Common business advice tends to view the 80:20 rule simplistically. Focus on the 80% of your store that drives profit, it says. Ignore the rest. That’s fine for the average folks. But what about those who want to boost the other 20%? It turns out that Point of Sale merchandise, the small items found near the checkout counter, can account for up to 20% of a healthy store’s sales. The candy, fidget toys, lighters, bookmarks, and gum that adorn the counter are highmargin products, and research says they work like catnip on customers. But it’s not as simple as laying out a box of M&M’s. Earning real money off POS items requires understanding how shoppers think. Once a customer nears the POS displays, they’re not the same customer they were when they entered. They’ve essentially done an entire emotional journey throughout your store. They’re no longer in the right headspace to think through complex decisions or complete high-level calculations. They’re operating on pure emotion and will naturally reach for items that satisfy base urges. The big guys have mastered the practice. Grocers, chain booksellers, and big box stores understand which items appeal to shoppers at the last minute. Some stores, like Barnes and Noble, have extended the area, forcing customers to snake through stands of last-second goodies before paying.

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But what works for nationwide retailers doesn’t neatly translate to independents. For one thing, customers at small stores spend less time waiting in line than they do at WalMart. For another, the mindset is different. The emotional comedown from buying food for a family of four differs substantially from what goes through someone’s head after buying a specialized tool, hobby kit, or sweater. Instead of copying best practices from the biggest players, it’s more effective to boost margins by employing the same underlying psychological mechanisms. Think of it like this: every shopper experiences decision fatigue. The more intricate the buying activity, the worse the fatigue. Having weighed the pros and cons of a color, cost, cut, etc., the logical brain goes into hibernation, and the emotional hemisphere takes command. Effective POS displays capitalize on that. You just have to figure out what decision fatigue from your store looks like.

The Hacks The first rule of POS-maxxing is to keep it simple. Offer lowpriced items at whole dollar amounts. Don’t make anyone do math. Sell breath mints for $4, not the industry standard $3.99. It’s all about bypassing the logical mind so it can’t hijack your thinking with intrusive questions like “Do I really need that?”

Chewing gum has been a stalwart of grocery store checkout aisles for exactly this reason. No one goes to the store to buy gum, but when we see tantalizing colors and a sticker price above a conveyor belt, it activates something within the lizard brain. Gum appeals to several emotional concerns at once, but perhaps none is easier to understand than a latent worry over bad breath. No one wants bad breath, and seeing chewing gum elicits this fear within us and provides a solution. Modern consumers contend with all kinds of emotional concerns, from the fear of missing out to the need for control. And this is where many stores go wrong. Managers think with their heads, while customers rely on their guts. It’s easy to forget that capitalism runs on emotion; buying something simply feels good. If a customer stops in for something quick and necessary—a stack of napkins, a can of WD-40—leaving the store with only that seems like a drag. Snagging a pack of M&Ms at the counter changes the whole experience. It allows them to embrace the “Treat yourself!” philosophy of shopping without triggering the part of the brain that worries over money. Consumer psychology works the opposite way, too. Researchers have found that when the shopping trip is a treat, customers can offset the guilt of self-indulgence by making a small, practical purchase at the cash register. Starbucks puts its gift cards front and center by the registers because its customers appreciate their ease and functionality. If you need a gift for a co-worker, an old friend, or a kid’s coach, a free coffee card makes for an excellent and practical way to let someone know they’re appreciated. Target and Trader Joe’s use POS items to take advantage of a different psychological phenomenon: FOMO. They stock seasonal or limited-time items near the register to trigger that feeling. Those who go regularly know the ache of missing out on flavors that only roll out once a year. The same concept can apply to samples. It’s no secret that new drives buying behavior, but many shoppers don’t want to commit to bulk purchases of something they’ve never tried. Placing fun-sized samples by the register allows them to try out a new flavor, look, or product without buyer’s remorse. Chain stores with long, winding checkout aisles often stock their lines with fidgety goods, the kind wrapped in crinkly plastic or that are instantly movable. In those cases, such items relieve the modern problem of dealing with three to five minutes of boredom and a need for stimulation. If the line is moving but still requires a wait, shoppers are less likely to pull out their phones, but their desire to access quick hits of dopamine remains.

Researchers have found that when the shopping trip is a treat, customers can offset the guilt of selfindulgence by making a small, practical purchase at the cash register. If your store attracts customers who pop in during the course of a busy day, it’s a good idea to consider the biggest-selling category of POS items: the “just in case” category. They’re the products that relieve the small anxieties, worries, fears, and inconveniences that make up a day. Just seeing breath mints, lighters, or batteries can be enough to trigger a buying response.

What Doesn’t Work Unfortunately, POS areas aren’t magical lands that cause shoppers to buy whatever’s there. Some clever marketing tactics and items don’t perform well there. Or at least not well enough to take up such valuable real estate. For example, consumer behavior researchers found in realworld tests that buy-one-get-one offers near the register worked well, but no better than BOGOs elsewhere in the store. The same pattern held for coupon-related sales. And, counterintuitively, customers respond best to displays that aren’t full. The same psychological mechanism that makes people feel weird about going first at a buffet applies to POS merchandise. Make sure you grab a few items off the display to let distracted buyers know it’s okay to pick one up. While you may never get to 20% of sales coming from POS, it’s worth experimenting with displays and product types to boost your margins. Every store cares about making a good first impression; POS proves it’s just as important to consider the last impression as well.

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EdQuest

Is Store Decor Important? BY K AR E N MAI N A

Before you've said a word, your shop is selling. The customer hasn’t touched a single product, and your staff hasn't even said hello. Your decor and layout have already done the talking, either pulling people in or pushing them away. Look, most shop owners don't spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff. You have to think about inventory, vendors, staffing headaches, and whatever new regulation is coming down the pipeline. But ignoring your store environment might be leaving money on the table. Here's why store decor is more important than you think.

You've Got About Seven Seconds Seven seconds. That's roughly how long it takes for someone walking past your shop to decide whether they're coming in. Some research puts it at a tenth of a second for an initial gut reaction. Either way, the pitch starts with your window display, your signage, and your street-facing lighting. Walk past your own shop sometime. Seriously, go outside, stand across the street, and look at it like a stranger would. What do you see? Is it inviting? Does it look like something interesting is happening in there? Or does it look like it hasn't been touched since 2009? Smoke shop customers are a specific crowd. They're visual, they're culture-driven, and they notice things. A dark, cluttered window with sun-bleached products doesn't say relaxing space, wellness, or even cool and hip. It probably says "keep walking." On the other hand, a clean, well-lit display with intention behind it says the opposite. It makes people curious. And if they never come in, more than half the sale is already done.

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Same Pipe, Different Price Tag Where a product sits changes what people think it's worth. You know this instinctively. A $200 glass piece shoved onto a packed shelf next to a bunch of other stuff? It looks like a $60 piece. Put that same pipe on a clean, well-lit display with a little breathing room around it? Consumer psychology research shows that store atmosphere and how products are displayed directly affect what shoppers think they're worth and what they're willing to pay. Luxury stores figured this out decades ago. Apple doesn't pile phones in bins, nor is high-end jewelry sitting in plastic trays. If your shop carries premium glass, niche brands, or specialty products, you can improve margins with a few tweaks.

Does Your Store Have the Right Vibe? Walk into a great headshop, and you know what it is in five seconds flat—the shelving, the lighting, the colors, the scent, and the music. You need to curate everything carefully to create a certain mood for the clientele. If, let's say, you cater to stressed moms who need to find a way to relax, and your ambiance is curated to help them do just that, isn't it likely that they will not only step in but also keep coming back? Think about what yours is actually communicating right now. A clean, modern shop with LED accent lighting and organized displays reads a certain way. A shop with warm lighting, wood fixtures, and a more old-school aesthetic reads completely different. Neither is wrong; however, it needs to appeal to the specific people you need to walk through your door.

Your customers remember how a place made them feel a lot longer than they remember what was on the shelves. That feeling is part of your brand.

The Longer They Stay, the More They Spend This one is pretty well documented: the more time a customer spends in your store, the more they buy. A retail analytics firm called Pathintelligence ran the numbers and found that a 1% increase in dwell time leads to a 1.3% increase in sales. That doesn't sound huge until you realize it compounds across every customer, every day. So what makes people stick around? Layout. A good layout pulls people through the space naturally. It puts things in front of them they weren't looking for but suddenly want. It creates those "oh wait, what's this?" moments that lead to add-on sales.

Your customers remember how a place made them feel a lot longer than they remember what was on the shelves. That feeling is part of your brand.

According to Chad Wade, a smokeshop expert, "Most welldesigned retail stores guide their clients to the right when they walk into the store. This is where all your high-margin products should live." This is part of layout psychology, which most big stores and supermarkets use to maximize sales. Chad also advises using the back wall for your premium upsells. Think about where your impulse items are. Are they near the register where people are already in buying mode? Are your accessories and add-ons near the products they go with? Are there dead zones in your shop where nobody goes? Take time to consider this through psychological and revenue lenses.

Make People so Comfortable They Reach for Their Wallets People don't spend money when they're uncomfortable. It's that simple. Bad lighting is one of the biggest offenders. Harsh fluorescent overhead lights make people feel like they're in a gas station; they want to get in and leave fast. Softer, warmer lighting does the opposite. Studies have shown that customers perceive products as higher-quality and fresher under better lighting. Clutter is another big no. A packed store isn't the same as a full store. Research shows that visual clutter literally triggers a stress response. Cortisol, the stress hormone, goes up. Customers start to feel overwhelmed without knowing exactly why, and they leave. For headshops, where you're carrying a lot of product in a tight space, the challenge is showing people everything you've got without making them feel like the shelves are closing in on them.

Keep music at a volume where people can still think and talk. Ensure the temperature doesn't make anyone want to leave. These aren't big renovations. They're just things that make people feel good in your space.

Good Store Design Helps Prevent Shrinkage Store decor does more than improve appearance; it also enhances security. A well-designed layout reduces theft by improving visibility and eliminating hiding spots. Bright lighting, lower shelving, and clear aisles allow staff to monitor the sales floor more effectively, while placing highvalue items near the checkout or in locked displays adds an extra layer of protection. Simple additions like convex mirrors can also eliminate blind spots. By designing a space where customers and staff can easily see one another, retailers can reduce shrinkage while creating a safer and more welcoming shopping experience.

Clean. Organized. Well-lit. This is the secret to great decor for your store that builds loyal clientele and increases revenue. You do not need a full renovation or a big budget. You need a space where customers can see your products clearly, move through comfortably, and leave feeling like they came to the right place. Do that consistently, and the revenue will follow.

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Head Space

What to Do During an Inspection BY J OE R EEF ER

Inspections are stressful for everyone involved, but they’re somehow made worse when you’ve got nothing to hide and they’re totally unexpected. Not only is there a chance that the inspector woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but there’s always the off chance that you—or your co-workers—have done something incorrectly without even realizing it. Moreover, there are enough cases involving mistaken identity, incorrect addresses, and overzealous cops that, even if your business is 100% legitimate, it could still become the target of an illegal or unauthorized raid by law enforcement officers (LEOs). It’s a risk that’s even present amongst dispensaries and other facilities that operate in medicinal and recreational states.

What Agents Can Legally Ask For In most states, inspectors have the authority to conduct on-site inspections of cannabis dispensaries and grow ops at virtually any time they choose—and they’re generally not required to provide any type of notice whatsoever. These inspections could target nearly anything related to your cannabis business, including licenses, permits, security or surveillance footage, information related to individual employees, and even cash or other assets that they suspect of being used in a crime. 30

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Apart from physical products, LEOs performing a raid would also be targeting many of these same things. In the case of a raid, however, LEOs can only operate within the guidelines of their specific search warrant. Performing any actions outside of these specifications, or seizing cash, goods, or assets that aren’t specifically named in the search warrant, could jeopardize their entire case as soon as it reaches the courtroom.

Preparing Staff for Inspections and Raids It’s crucial that all of your staff members know how to act during inspections and raids. Saying something offensive to an inspector or making a suspicious move, especially during a raid, could have dire consequences for both the business and the individual. Most inspections are pretty straightforward. If it’s unannounced and inspectors are suddenly inside the building, staff should immediately alert management to their presence. From there, most subordinate staff will take a passive role, while on-site managers interact with the inspectors to provide the necessary documentation, answer questions, and monitor their actions.

Raids, on the other hand, tend to be a lot more chaotic in nature. Ideally, subordinate staff members should still notify management as soon as possible. In the case of an unannounced or unexpected raid, however, there might not be enough time. The most important part here, for the entire team, is to remain calm and avoid resisting the officers. Managerial staff should move quickly to secure any cash, and everyone should exercise their right to counsel if asked any questions. You certainly don’t want to escalate the situation at this point, so try to act respectfully and professionally— even if the LEOs won’t give you that same courtesy.

What To Do During a Raid • Verify the credentials of the LEOs involved • Obey and cooperate with lawful commands • Request the presence of a lawyer during questioning

Important Documents to Keep on Hand •A ny applicable operating licenses, permits, or certificates of analysis (COAs) • Business and financial records • Personnel records •C ontact information of managers and supervisors • Seed-to-sale records • Chain of custody logs • Proof of recalls and waste management • Visitor logs for non-public areas

What NOT To Do During a Raid • NEVER obstruct a LEO’s actions • DO NOT falsify information of any kind • AVOID name-calling or any other actions that could escalate the situation There are a variety of ways you can prepare for an inspection or raid. Mock inspections and raid role-playing sessions can go a long way toward providing knowledge and boosting employee confidence, while creating a contact sheet with key names and numbers ensures that management is no more than a phone call away at all times.

Common Citation Triggers In theory, inspections and raids can happen at any time of the day or night and for no particular reason whatsoever. Sometimes, however, they’re spurred on by new laws and legislation, complaints from within the local community, or the actions (and inactions) of staff.

New Laws and Regulations We live in tumultuous times—and this is especially true for those who operate in the cannabis industry. As new laws are made and regulatory guidelines continue to evolve, dispensary owners need to stay up-to-date on any recent changes in order to maintain compliance at all times.

Tax and Revenue Audits

Failed Lab Tests Although one or two failed lab tests probably won’t cause too much concern, repeated failures, especially when it comes to heavy metals, pesticides, or mold, could result in more frequent inspections, raids, or even loss of business licensure.

Selling to Minors Undercover LEOs regularly frequent gas stations and supermarkets to perform compliance checks. Luckily, these efforts are easily thwarted by verifying the ID of everyone who walks into the store.

Learn How to Ace Your Next Inspection While Avoiding Raids Inspections and raids happen every day across the United States—whether they’re legally authorized or not. If you’ve recently failed an inspection, or if you just want to do everything possible to safeguard against raids, stay tuned to the pages of HQ Magazine for more helpful tips on how you can keep your business safe in the modern cannabis industry.

Failed audits can lead to inspections and raids, too. The IRS generally doesn’t mess around when it comes to collecting its money, so any discrepancies here could spell big trouble for the entire business.

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Women in Cannabis

women in cannabis KATIE MOTTA

BY EMILY LONG As a former D.A.R.E. kid and photography student, Katie Motta studied commercial fashion photography before founding her own branding and design agency, Alluring Media Co., in the beauty and wellness space. In both her personal and professional life, she has a keen eye for detail and aesthetics, conveying both sophistication and luxury while remaining approachable and unpretentious. For Katie, this outsider perspective on the cannabis industry isn’t a hindrance—it’s an advantage. In 2021, she participated in an entrepreneurship group with fellow founders across different sectors, including the cannabis space. Here, her design acumen caught the right people’s attention, and she began to realize that her unique lens and branding skillset were missing from the cannabis space and accidentally excluding a lot of people along the way. She founded Jade Stone to fill this market gap specifically for women and canna-curious consumers. When she started Jade Stone, Katie knew a lot about design and marketing, and next to nothing about cannabis. Her dad grew up in the War on Drugs Era and was loudly anticannabis. “There was a ton of negativity around it in my house, and I wasn’t a rebel at all,” she says. When she tried an edible for the first time in college—a homemade cookie from her boyfriend’s brother—she experienced intense anxiety and hallucinations. “I had the worst time!” she laughs. “The whole time I was thinking, ‘My parents were right!’”

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It wasn’t until she started going to industry events that someone in her entrepreneurship cohort suggested to her that she realized what she grew up hearing about cannabis wasn’t accurate at all. Her parents told her that people who partook in cannabis were all criminals who had bad intentions. Still, she instead met professionals, mothers, medical patients, and people seeking support on their own health and wellness journeys. “It was completely eye-opening for me,” she says. “The lack of judgment in the industry is so refreshing. Everyone is so welcoming and nice.” With Jade Stone, Katie saw an opportunity to speak to a historically underserved demographic in cannabis spaces: women like her. Jade Stone’s emphasis on modern aesthetics and compelling storytelling helps brands reach canna-curious customers who might otherwise be scared off by traditional industry branding. “This outsider perspective is actually really helpful as we try to make cannabis more mainstream,” Katie says. While her parents are still not cannabis enthusiasts, she keeps them top of mind in her work. “As I’m designing things with my team, I’m always thinking ‘If I brought this home, would my parents be interested, or would they be horrified?’” Katie says.

“I take a lot of influence from the beauty realm, especially in the CBD and topical space,” she says. “There’s a lot of overlap with how the products look on the shelf.” In addition to ensuring everything looks clean, modern, and sleek, Katie prioritizes customer education in all her cannabis work. As a canna-curious consumer herself, she knows this demographic is much more attuned to the language used, so the product needs to clearly explain what it does and why it’s important. One small change with a big impact? Taking cannabis leaves off of product branding, while still adhering to regulations and not obscuring the plant. Katie found that for many newcomers to the cannabis space, seeing the leaves would immediately cause people to shut down instead of approaching the product with curiosity and a willingness to learn. Sleek doesn’t mean sterile either. By prioritizing a creative, artsy style over the stereotypical grungy one, Katie tries to walk the line between making cannabis more broadly appealing while maintaining its inherent cultural charm. Continued on pg. 36

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Women in Cannabis

As Katie has brought her design and marketing prowess into the cannabis space, the industry has rewarded her with unexpected surprises—specifically, a community of supportive, encouraging women without cliques or cattiness. “It’s cliché at this point, but it’s so true,” she says. “The amount of support I get from the women in this space is something I’ve never seen anywhere else.” This camaraderie extends beyond just business; these women form authentic friendships that extend into their personal lives too. Some of her favorite female entrepreneurs and womenowned businesses also happen to be her clients, like Latina cannabis advocate and founder of Rhi-Up Rhiannon Binder and Ericka Padilla-Toro of GG’s Garden, who recently rebranded with the help of Jade Stone. Of course, being a woman leader in a male-dominated business comes with its challenges, especially when it comes to access to capital. With Jade Stone, Katie loves working with women-owned businesses, but these businesses sometimes struggle to secure funding compared to their male-led counterparts. “Seeing and hearing these ideas that aren’t being funded is so hard to see,” she says. “A lot of women still get overlooked for the work they’re doing. I know that’s not unique to the cannabis industry, but it often

feels even more prevalent here. These smaller moments can really bolster or break someone’s confidence, so we need to dismantle it sooner.” Despite unlearning the stigmas she grew up with and advocating for cannabis access for others, Katie considers herself a micro-dose consumer. “I grew up with a lot of anxiety, so anything I do is very low dose,” she says. To help with the anxiety and daily tension, she mostly leans on CBD products for relief. Right now, she’s especially loving the Wyld strawberry gummies with a 20:1 CBD-to-THC ratio. Especially in the age of AI, Katie believes in the importance of people-centered communication and a human touch. “Design gets overlooked constantly; it’s usually the last thing people think about,” she says. It takes a long time, over a year, to build a brand, but Katie can clearly distinguish the brands that did it right from the beginning from those who didn’t. As cannabis becomes more mainstream, the stories we tell around the plant and its many uses become more and more important. “Cannabis will be federally legal at some point, so everything we’re doing now should be building toward that,” she says.

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Head of Industry

Versatile and Affordable ATM and POS Services ATM Wholesaler is an industry leader that rewards its customers BY J IM M Y WOH L Christian Koza loves what he does. As VP of Operations at ATM Wholesaler and Elite Merchant Services, he’s picked up the baton from his father and CEO, Norman Koza, who passed it to him after founding this successful company over 25 years ago. A native of Michigan, Christian began managing the ATM and point-of-sale (POS) divisions while in college at San Diego State University, then returned to his home state to keep revving up revenue. In talking to him, his excitement was infectious, making me more interested than I’d ever been in an industry that’s often hiding in plain sight.

A basic service for your special business “We’re an ATM provider and a payment processing provider,” says Christian. “So we provide the POS systems for any sort of business, whether they’re a restaurant, liquor store, coffee shop, online e-commerce, specialty shop, and so much more. We accept payments, and we can also put ATMs in gas stations, liquor stores, or any business that would need an ATM.” I realized I’d never thought much about companies like this. If we were fish, they would be just part of the water we swam in. I looked up the history of ATMs and found a fascinating evolution that began in England and then the US in the 1960s. By the time I came of age in the 1990s, ATMs were everywhere, possibly in their heyday, before the now-ubiquitous POS terminals—both in-person and online— had fully taken hold. Back then, we couldn’t imagine that one day you’d pay for most things through a small portable phone-computer that eats up many of society’s functions. ATM Wholesaler saw this change coming a long time ago and diversified its business. They made sure they were available anywhere in the US and could adapt to any 38

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market. “We’re a nationwide company; we don’t need to be physically there, per se. We have installers for the cash side and the payment processing side with better rates, lower fees, and amazing customer service.”

More money from customers, less spent on processing fees When I see an ATM or a POS terminal, I’ve never imagined the company behind it or what makes it unique. Christian explained how their business distinguishes itself. “Our end goal is to help the business owner save money any way possible,” says Christian. “Whether it’s on the ATM side or the payment processing side. Most of these businesses accept credit cards—there are few businesses that are strictly cash. Every business has a credit card machine there. And they’re all paying a processing fee. It’s the same on the ATM side. Our goal is to take a look at their statement and see what they’re paying with their current provider. Then we figure out how much money we can save them on their processing fees, and give them a solution that can better streamline their business to bring more customers in the door and save them more money.” When I asked him about the nuts and bolts of his business, he described an elaborate onboarding operation designed to keep his customers’ businesses running smoothly and affordably. “We do everything. We get all the processing documents, get everything filled out, and get whatever we need from their end. If it’s for an ATM, we’ll have our ATM department handle all that. We have multiple ATMs in our office that are refurbished or brand new, and we’ll send them out wherever they are, whether it’s Michigan or any other state. We have tech support teams and technicians that can be on-site; just call us, and we can solve anything right away.”

I wasn’t aware that there were options for ATMs. Christian explained, “Brand new ATMs cost a few hundred dollars more than refurbished ones, but their capabilities and function are the same.” Christian continued, elaborating on the benefits of their POS service. “Our payment processing side is important. We have great programs, like our $5,000 sign-up bonus for restaurants if they process over $30,000 in volume. We provide integrations with DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, and more. We have POS systems with dual-facing screens that do on-the-spot BOGO promotions, and another that tracks inventory for the store owners and verifies IDs to make sure they are above the age of 21. These are just some great systems we offer!”

Specific ways you can save Maybe I’m just late to the party, but it was enlightening to learn about how businesses choose to pass on or eat their credit card fees, and how Elite Merchant Services gives its customers options. “When it comes to payment processing solutions, all these businesses need a POS or credit card machine. We’re a

one-stop shop for any of these businesses, and we have different pricing programs. If they don’t want to pay credit card processing fees, they can decide if they want to pass the fees onto the customer. It’s called cash-discounting. If something is $100, it’s, say, $104 on the card, but it’ll stay at $100 for that item if they pay cash. It’s great when the business owner wants to eliminate all of their business processing fees. They love it; they’re saving their business a ton of money. We do it on that end as well.”

Their satisfaction is our satisfaction What drives Christian to grow his business? His love of people. The experience of knowing he’s helped so many succeed. It’s heartening to know there’s a special spirit behind such a common service. Before Christian had to go, he left me with this sentiment. “What excites me is seeing business owners' faces or reactions or hearing them on the phone, finding out how good we can take care of them on the savings side and the support side. When I’m taking care of someone, it puts a smile on my face, and it shows that we’re doing a good job. That’s why I’m here every day—to take care of clients.”

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Shop of the Month

The TheOther Other Other The Side Sideof of of Side Shakedown Shakedown Shakedown Street Street Street BY M ATT WE E K S Joe Krzeminski remembers hanging around his aunt Kathy’s store as a small child, marveling at its macramé art, homemade clothing, and glass pipes in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was the '70s. Things were simpler. All a store needed to succeed was an owner with a big personality, well-priced goods, and some righteous advertising. “I was fascinated by that gift shop,” Krzeminski recalls. “It was a blend of clothing, hippie stuff, peace and love, and a little bit of Jesus. That was my inspiration. That and, in 1989, I started touring with the Grateful Dead.” Now in his 60s, Krzeminski is no longer affiliated with the store. His ex-wife and daughter run it. But for decades, Deadheads and counterculture diehards across the country could recognize “Joe Shakedown” on sight and traveled across the country to visit the store he founded. Taking a cue from the breezy hippie vibe of show parking lots, Krzeminski built Shakedown Street around his own quirks. He invested heavily in advertising, scripting, and recording his own commercials, and kept up with the trends by touring relentlessly with big-name bands as a stage hand. Through the decades, he hoisted lights and wrangled knobs for acts like Bob Seger, B.B. King, Slayer, and Billy Idol. Like the bands he toured with, Krzeminski’s store attracted notice. It epitomized the quintessential head shop to such an extent that, when Jerry Garcia died in 1995, the Wall Street Journal called Krzeminski for a quote. It made the front page. “I don’t know why it got so famous. But people knew us coast to coast. They would ask me about it on tour,” Krzeminski says. “Word just got around, and it was all over. I knew distributors everywhere, and folks would come in from everywhere just to see it.” 42

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True to its origins, the 2,000-square-foot location was stuffed with groovy memorabilia. Krzeminski and his wife, Rhonda, tie-dyed tees, tapestries, pipes, jewelry, and jam band merchandise. Its award-winning window displays pulled in passersby on Leonard Avenue. But the real draw behind Shakedown Street was its singularity. It was a blend of competing ideas, rival interests, and disparate tastes that somehow appealed to everyone.

You Gotta Have Faith Mixed in among the baubles and bubblers was a little bit of ministry. Krzeminski, who still serves as a deacon at Trinity Croton Bible Church, just up the road from Grand Rapids, brought his lifelong Christian beliefs to the store. “You got to be careful with that, you know what I mean? I didn't want to scare the rock n’ roll crowd away, you know. Some people don't want that. They say, ‘Don't put Jesus in my face’ and I thought, ‘Okay, I won't.’ But when you're looking through my sterling silver cases, there's a vintage rosary in there. It's made out of crystal. There's another one on the corner. There are beautiful wooden crosses in with my music boxes and my puzzle boxes. And in my books, I'd have marijuana grow books and books about the Grateful Dead, and then I'd put in an interesting one on Proverbs.” Faith was a fundamental part of the shop’s success, he insists. It drew in people who may otherwise have felt that cannabis and Christianity aren’t made by the same creator. “That's one of the reasons why people loved it,” says former customer Breanna Holmes. “There was a nice, calm, loving atmosphere. He engaged with his customers, with everybody.” Krzeminski’s faith led him to be involved with prison ministry and several organizations that address issues like substance abuse recovery, sex trafficking, and canine rescue.

“A lot of his former employees were people whom he helped out that way, and he actually saved a lot of their lives,” Holmes says. “A lot of people don’t realize that helping people in recovery is one of the hardest things you can do.” Krzeminski says his past experiences with the rock n’ roll lifestyle, combined with his faith, give him a unique ability to talk with, relate to, and help others. “I’m not a finger pointer. I’m not an innocent. I’ve done more cocaine—I could draw a line from here to California,” he says. “But that was in the past. Once I got the store, I would bring people in who were having a hard time or needing something. “I always work with Project Red. I had a lot of different projects that I worked with, and Shakedown was an outreach for everybody,” he added. “We had hookers on our street. We had drug addicts and [all] that. They all knew they could get Narcan from me. They all knew if they were in trouble, they could come in there. Even the crossing guards with the kids knew about us, and they'd tell their kids, ‘If you're ever in trouble, go right in that store.’ Kind of weird for a head shop, you would think. But I had that kind of rapport with my community.”

Still Truckin’ While Krzeminski’s days at Shakedown are over, the memories remain among his most loyal customers. “There was nothing better than walking through that back door, turning that handle, and feeling the vibe and the smell of being in there,” says Jennifer Rebecca Parker, who was a regular at the store 35 years ago. “The feeling that you would be getting walking in there was like no other place. I mean, it brought you back in time and brought your soul back. It took you out of this ugly world. I would go into the store at least twice a week just to even walk around and to be around the vibe of the store. It was like no other store in Grand Rapids. Nobody else could touch Shakedown Street.” These days, Krzeminski hopes to bring the same purpose and feeling to a new venture just up the road in Croton, Michigan. He plans to open a B&B called The Grateful Bed and Breakfast. “I bought this vintage old boarding house, and I’m putting everything together. I cook really well,” he says. “Plus, I just like to take care of people.”

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