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


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

New laws and rules coming to Ontario next month

Toronto getting a new park that will just be torn up and replaced by another park

Canadians about to get first child tax payment of 2025

Toronto's metro area population has officially exceeded 7 million people

Ontario residents are about to get their $200 provincial rebate cheques

Here's how much more people in Ontario are taxed than other provinces and U.S. states

Canada about to clamp down on immigration eligibility and here are the facts

Toronto is hiring for a ton of jobs right now and many pay over $100K