Birdie’s Vintage & Antiques opens in Norris
Clerk Meleena Lamb shows the interior of the new Birdie’s Vintage & Antiques store in the same space as Wake & Bake, next door to the Liquor Depot in Norris. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Brandi Addington, owner of both businesses at 3354 Andersonville Highway, opened Birdie’s on July 4, offering vintage clothing, antique furniture, collectibles, records, art and more, she said.
Although Birdie’s is in a separate room from the cannabis dispensary, there is no wall between the two businesses, which has put a restriction on Birdie’s that limits entry to people age 21 and above, with a valid photo ID.
But Addington said that if the new business “takes off does well, I think if I put up a wall between the two, that will solve the issue.”
“I have antique booths in Knoxville, and open with antiques in that space in Norris,” she said. “We weren’t using it. Clinton is oversaturated with antiques in the downtown area. We didn’t have anything like that here.”
She named the store after her dog, a year-old, 110-pound Mastiff, she said.
As for the store’s age restriction, the buyers of Birdie’s products are expected to be adults anyway, Addington said.
She hopes the additional business created by Birdie’s will at least partially make up for the huge drop in revenue Wake & Bake has experienced since a new THCA ban in Tennessee took effect July 1.
THCA is a derivative of the hemp flower, and sale of it is now a Class A misdemeanor in Tennessee, punishable by up to nearly a year in jail and hefty fines.
“THCA was the flower we were selling, and that was 70% of our income,” said Addington, who lives in Knoxville, where she also operates another Wake & Bake store.
“Since the ban took effect July 1, we are rolling out new products, but they will never make up what was taken away,” she said. “Most of our customer base is 40 or over, and they used the flowers it for pain relief. Our customers were crying on the last day.”
According to online research, Tennessee’s comprehensive ban on hemp-derived THCA products with concentrations of 0.3% or higher effectively outlaws the sale and shipment of popular items such as smokable hemp flower, pre-rolls, and many high-potency vapes statewide.
Banned were all THCA products and THC derivatives exceeding a dry-weight concentration limit of 0.3%.
Stores can still legally sell low-potency edibles, gummies, and drinks (up to 15 mg. per serving), if they remain under 0.3%.
All legal hemp transactions must be in person, and purchasers must provide ID to prove they are 21 or older. Online ordering, delivery, or shipping of THCA products to Tennessee consumers is prohibited.
Opening in mid-2023 in Norris, Wake & Bake was described as a “cannabis dispensary and smoke lounge.” It was made possible by the Farm Hemp Law, passed in 2018 and modified a few times since then.
Gov. Bill Lee signed both the original legislation, which regulated and taxed CBD/hemp products for the first time in the state. But he also signed the bill earlier this year making most hemp products illegal again.
The original bill broadly legalized hemp-derived cannabinoid products – including those that can produce a high similar to marijuana – making the products legal to sell and purchase in Tennessee.
But the products were required to have THC content lower than marijuana to meet state legal guidelines. Marijuana is not legal in Tennessee, even for medicinal purposes.
Wake & Bake manager Elias Jolly-Knight said shortly after the store opened in 2023 that it offered a variety of hemp-derived products, including CBD lotions and creams, pet treats, and munchies, including gummies, chocolate bars and Rice Krispie treats.
