Once again, CBD Store is back to help locals in need

By ALEX SPONSELLER
Posted 4/9/20

The CBD Store in Warwick has had its share of struggles over the past few months. In December, the shop was robbed and lost $20,000 in supplies. Just as things began turning around in March, the COVID-19 crisis began and its doors

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Once again, CBD Store is back to help locals in need

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The CBD Store in Warwick has had its share of struggles over the past few months.

In December, the shop was robbed and lost $20,000 in supplies. Just as things began turning around in March, the COVID-19 crisis began and its doors were closed.

After a few rough weeks of dealing with the shutdown, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo declared CBD businesses as essential, and the store opened its doors once again last weekend.

Now, as the store continues to recoup its losses, it is also focused on helping others in need.

“The last few weeks were tough on us as a small business. People still aren’t going out, so even though we’re open, we’re struggling pretty bad. We got robbed back in December, it took a few months for us to recover from that since our insurance didn’t cover any of our losses. We were just finally starting to get back on track in early March and then the virus came. It was back to back with two major catastrophes. This one though, this one is worse than what happened back in December,” said The CBD Store owner Michael Lanoue.

The store is back in business and welcomes walk-in visits, visits by appointment, and also offers online chats on its website. The store now offers mailing services, delivery, among other amenities to help give their customers safe and exceptional service.

“We always want to provide a personal experience, we want to make it an educational experience. We want people to learn about the product, learn what they’re taking and learn what happens when they take it. We want it to be a personal experience, that is what a small business is about. Big corporations, they put things on the shelf and just have people buy them. Whether it’s our business or another local business, we really try to focus on the community which was what our dream was when we started this business,” said Lanoue. “People can become friends, family, we have people that have been coming here for the past year and we know them by name, we consider many of our customers family.”

“Right now, for us, it’s about getting the word out there and trying to help people during these uncertain times. This is something that Rhode Island has not had to deal with ever, so we are just trying to do what we can to help,” added Eva Lanoue, Michael’s wife. “If you’re afraid to leave your home, if you’re amino-compromised, if you’re elderly, we are able to ship packages to them and we can deliver our products right to their door without them having to make contact with us. We are willing to do whatever we have to do to give them what they need.”

Michael also encourages locals to look into CBD to help relieve some of the anxieties that are caused by the crisis.

“One thing about this situation, is that people are stressed, they have anxiety, they don’t know when they’re going back to work. CBD has been shown to help with all of that,” said Michael.

The store has also been trying to find ways to help others in need as well, and recently ordered 200 bottles of hand sanitizer which it will be receiving toward the end of the month. The shop plans on providing the supplies to local nursing and veteran homes on arrival.

“That’s what we like to do, we just like to help when we can. As a small business, we can’t guarantee millions of dollars, but we give what we can give and we’re not afraid to do that,” said Michael.

The Lanoues extend their thoughts to the other local small businesses that are fighting their way through this unprecedented time.

“Our heart goes out to all of those small businesses out there. Times are extremely tough right now, but we’re all going to get through this together,” said Michael. “We haven’t lost hope despite everything that has happened to us in the past few months. We haven’t lost that hope, that dream. Stay strong, we’re going to get through this.”

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