Coconut Cannabis opens north of Bemidji as first non-tribal adult-use dispensary

Coconut Cannabis opened on Feb. 23, 2026, in Turtle Lake Township, just north of Bemidji, the business announced via social media and local reporting, marking the first non-tribal adult-use cannabis dispensary in the immediate Bemidji area. The Hill family owns and operates the store, which occupies an adjoining facility to Lakes Liquor roughly 5 miles north of Bemidji’s city limits.

An Instagram post promoting the opening stated, “One of our founding cohort members will be opening the doors of their dispensary, Coconut Cannabis, on Feb 23. · First city-owned cannabis.” The dispensary has also been described in local coverage as a Mexico-themed retail outlet and as “the first family-owned, non-tribal recreational cannabis dispensary in the Bemidji area and among the first 10 of such.”

The Coconut Cannabis opening comes as a separate, contested dispensary proposal moves through Bemidji city planning channels under the name First City Cannabis. First City Cannabis first appeared on the Bemidji citizen planning commission agenda in November 2025 for consideration of an interim use permit at a leased facility on the south side of Bemidji, after nearly a year of work with the city’s planning department.

At a planning meeting that produced a 5-1 vote approving an interim use permit for First City Cannabis, commissioners attached numerous conditions to the approval. Board member Emelie Rivera voiced her support during the meeting, saying, “It's all for the sale of a product that is designed for people 21 and older. Kids can enter liquor stores. Kids can enter tobacco stores. They aren't going to be able to enter this.”

Community opposition to the south-side proposal has been sustained since December, with residents and parents urging the planning commission to deny recommending the permit because the proposed First City Cannabis location would neighbor the Gym Bin, a youth gymnastics studio that partners with Bemidji Area Schools for district gymnastics teams, and lie close to the Kandiland Daycare Center.

Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince, speaking in his capacity as a planning board member, highlighted the planning complexity and statutory constraints facing commissioners, saying, “If I vote ‘no’ against that, I got to say the 50 feet matters. I just see a lot of good people here trying to do the right thing. I see a big hole in what the state's given us. And we're all here on a 60-day clock trying to make the best decision we can.”

With Coconut Cannabis open at the Lakes Liquor-adjacent site about 5 miles north of the city, adults 21 and older in the Bemidji area now have a non-tribal retail option in Turtle Lake Township. Meanwhile, the First City Cannabis permit process on Bemidji’s south side remains subject to the interim use conditions and ongoing community concern over proximity to youth-serving facilities.