In the bourbon industry, tourism has become as synonymous with the distilleries as the expressions they make.
But what about the cannabis industry?
One Louisville startup is out to employ some of the same tactics used by distilleries found along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
“Our understanding is that this will be unique — new — the first time that a hemp facility is going online that will mirror the experience of a [distillery],” said Jim Higdon, the co-founder and chief communications office of Cornbread Hemp.
I recently stopped by to speak to Higdon to take a look at the 25,000-square-foot building in Louisville's Newburg neighborhood — as the company continues to renovate the property to fit its needs. We were later joined by Eric Zipperle, Cornbread Hemp co-founder/CEO, who also happens to be Higdon’s cousin.
What jumped out to me the most was that every room had rectangles carved out in the wall where glass will one day go, to let patrons get a better sense of how the cannabis goes from being in its raw form with a flower-only extraction to consumer good products (such as their most popular products, organic CBD gummies).
If all goes as planned, construction should be completed by the beginning of August, with production starting around Labor Day. Furthermore, the facility is hoping to hold tours at the beginning of 2025, Higdon said.
“We’ve said since Day One, what we’re building is the Maker’s Mark of Kentucky [hemp], and that includes the full facility tour,” said Zipperle, referring to the highly trafficked distillery in Loretto, Kentucky.
It should be noted that Zipperle founded the Nashville, Tennessee, operations of Louisville-based Mint Julep Tours before he co-founded Cornbread Hemp with Higdon.
Based on his research, Higdon said that there was “hefty Venn diagram overlap” between the main customer demographic of those interested in Cornbread Hemp’s products and those from distilleries.
“People in bourbon tourism want to experience hemp and cannabis. Also it’s a unique market for people who want to experience cannabis, but are not interested in bourbon or spirits,” he said.
The building, located at 4612 Schuff Ave. in Louisville, was formerly occupied by Jonathan Stanton, a tile importer and mosaic artist. As such, the building’s rooms feature large, colorful mosaics — including one of Downtown Louisville.
“They’re making for good Zoom backgrounds,” Higdon said.
Note: Cornbread Hemp is leasing out the space from Troy LeBlanc, who is part of the team that is in the process of launching the Old Commonwealth Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky — the former site of where Old Rip Van Winkle bourbon was produced and bottled before it was acquired by Sazerac.
Cornbread’s products range in price from $34.99 for CBD oil to $123.97 for CBD skincare set or a “Relax + Recover Bundle,” according to the company’s site. Visitors can also purchase Cornbread Hemp branded gear on the site, as well as a copy of “The Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History” — a 2012 book written by Higdon that was the impetus behind the founding of the company in 2019.
Similar to a distillery, there will be a retail area in the front of the building, when completed.
Cornbread Hemp has a headcount approaching 50. Up until entering its new facility, the company has split in two locations with operations being housed in Jeffersontown at 2517 Data Drive and the production taking place outside of Lexington.
The new Louisville building will house all phases of the business.
Construction is being done by Louisville-based McCormick Construction and Development.
Named one of our 2022 KY Inno Startups to Watch, the company closed a $2 million seed round last year. Since its founding, the company has raised approximately $3.5 million, Higdon said.
The company was named to our Fast 50 list for 2023. It was No. 4 on the list with a revenue growth rate from 2020 of 2303.43%. In 2023, it had an annual revenue of a little more than $15 million.
