Noble Herb wins high honors for its inspired dispensary design

A high country cannabis dispensary owned by a trio from the Valley recently nabbed a major award for its visual appeal.

Noble Herb's dispensary in Flagstaff, designed by Scottsdale-based High Road Design Studio, won a first-place award in the food and beverage/consumables category in Visual Merchandising + Store Design magazine’s 2023 International Visual Competition. The competition recognizes the best of the best in temporary merchandising displays, such as pop-ups and window displays.

VMSD is a retail trade publication founded in 1897 by L. Frank Baum, the writer of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Hundreds of top firms, including retailers, retail designers and visual merchandisers, vie each year for a top spot in the competition’s five categories.

Other entrants this year in the overall competition included Macy's, Target and The Walt Disney Company. Past contestants have included Bergdorf Goodman, Coach, Saks Fifth Avenue, Patagonia and Everlane.

A new face for Noble Herb

Noble Herb's founders and operating partners Doug Daly and brothers Ryan and Brandon Hermansky worked with Megan Stone, High Road's founder and creative director, to create a warm, inviting retail space geared toward adult-use cannabis.

Noble Herb first opened as a medical cannabis dispensary on June 13, 2013, at 460 N. Switzer Canyon Drive. It moved to its current spot, which used to house Kachina Downtown Restaurant, on July 6, 2022.

Once cannabis was legalized for recreational use in Arizona, the Noble team knew they wanted to create a “beautiful, welcoming environment” focused on customer service. Although there are only three dispensaries in Flagstaff, they serve a full-time population of 72,000, and Noble wanted to find a way to be competitive in the market.

Stone’s company has designed 90 dispensaries nationwide and strives to give cannabis “a new face," she told Phoenix New Times. Stone added that she aims to “undo stigma and stereotypes and give people a better impression of the cannabis industry and its users.”

Part of the inspiration for the look and feel of Noble Herb, Stone said, was Press Coffee's award-winning flagship Roastery on North 32nd Street near Shea Boulevard in Phoenix. But she also crafted Noble Herb with its own sense of place.

“Aesthetically, we wanted to feel like part of Flagstaff,” Stone explained. “We wanted a modern environment, but we also wanted to be mindful of Flagstaff’s unique climate and its outdoor active lifestyle and the vibrancy the college campus brings to the city.”

To do that in the 7,000-square-foot space, Stone used “a nice blend of natural-looking materials in a modern way that feels current and up to date,” she said.

From first glance, you'll know that this is no run-of-the-mill dispensary. Its eye-catching exterior showcases distinctive angles, a colorful metal screen over the entry and a black metal standing-seam roof, which is a common design element in the “modern farmhouse trend,” Stone said.

The interior features light and dark wood and wood laminate, wood-look porcelain tile, terrazzo-like tile and a signature gold-and-black plaid pattern used as an accent. “We used that in some really specific places to really bring in character and something fun,” Stone said of the plaid.

A dual-sided water vapor fireplace visually separates the lobby and express pick-up area from the showroom.

“The water vapor changes color; you can control it via remote,” Ryan Hermansky noted. “It attracts attention and creates conversation every day.”

Merchandise displays are notable for their visual appeal and how well they show the products. Real and resin/acrylic versions of gummies are set out in cases in addition to the packaging so customers can see products just as they would view produce in a grocery store.

Stone also worked closely with the founders on efficient logistics. Budtenders access fully stocked drawers from behind the counter so they don’t have to run to a back room for orders. An express area in the lobby speeds up online pickup orders.

The Noble difference

In addition to the dispensary, Noble Herb boasts a vertically integrated business that includes a cultivation in Camp Verde and a kitchen and warehouse for distribution in Phoenix. At the latter location, the company makes Pure Edibles, which are popular with customers statewide thanks to their accessible price point and lack of sugar coating. Noble Herb also makes Everest concentrates in Flagstaff.

Being an independent operator allows Noble to get involved in community events and make quick, nimble decisions, Ryan Hermansky explained.

“We’re involved owners, so we’re on the sales floor talking with and interacting with customers, getting direct feedback,” he said. “We’re not tied to what’s going on throughout the rest of the country like the big multistate operators are.”

According to Ryan Hermansky, the business has seen a boost from the dispensary's design as well as its new location, which is within walking distance of downtown and attracts tourists en route to the Grand Canyon.

“It’s got amazing Route 66 frontage. It’s got one of the best parking lots in the city,” he said. “Most people are used to average, mundane dispensaries, so when they make it to our shop, they’re excited.”

Although Noble Herb's founders live in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ryan Hermansky said they’d all lived in the mountain town at various times. “We all had a soft spot in our heart for Flagstaff," he said.