text: CHAMPS Dispensary+ Oregon's Finest, Portland Oregon - CHAMPS Dispensary+
  Oregon's Finest, Portland Oregon
  We stopped by the Convention Center location to see if it truly is Oregon's finest
  Store Name: Oregon's Finest – Convention Center
  Store Location: 736 NE MLK JR. Blvd Portland, OR 97232
  Store Website: https://www.Oregons-Finest.com
  The Pacific Northwest is home to some of the country's most vibrant and closely knit cannabis communities. Due to some recent issues in the Portland area, we wanted to see how the retail operations stacked up and see if the negative light painted on Portland was a truly earned notoriety or if a couple bad shops just gave the city a bad grade. To begin, we stopped by the Convention Center retail operation for Oregon's Finest located just northeast of the downtown area directly across the street from the Oregon Convention Center. From the outside, it gives off the strong appearance of an upscale artisan coffee shop complete with its dark color and wood trim. Beautifully juxtaposed against the adjacent buildings, it absolutely stands out. Upon entering the dispensary lobby though giant wooden doors, you immediately run into the receptionist counter with comfortable seating going down both the left and right side of the lobby against the glass windows. Oregon's Finest also carried an abundance of merchandise such as books, socks, shirts, and hats with their logo's branding right before and right after you enter/leave the budroom. Check-in was a breeze, however, due to the one on one nature of collective the churn rate for patrons seemed slow. Keeping people in the lobby vs the budroom was actually smart in this regard as it allowed people to check out their menu's to get an idea of what they want to inquire about prior to stepping into the shop, as well as allows people time to browse the merchandise without feeling awkward standing around in the shop after their purchase. The receptionist was training someone new to the staff, and unfortunately, they completely forgot the order in which people were checked in. Thankfully, people were very forgiving and honest with the line, but in a different and more crowded scenario (there were only 4 people in the store at the time) this could have gone much worse. I will say, however, that despite previous problems with other shops in the city in regards to compliance, Oregon's finest was on their A game with checking ID's. After about a 7 minute wait I was finally called inside.
  Oregon's Finest – Convention Center, Lobby Area
  Upon entering the budroom I was stunned. This was clearly a retail shop that took design and branding to the next level. Wood and dark trims continued on the inside and really made the displays pop. The easy to read menu's also matched that beautiful Northwestern Brewhouse / Mountain Lodge branding and aesthetic. 3 island counters made up the 2 POS systems and central concentrate display and also matched the aesthetic of the store. The different strains of flower-lined the back walls as part of the display and really gave a clean look mixed with their various awards in almost a 'Greenhouse – Amsterdam' vibe. The edibles were behind you in a fridge (when facing the bud counters) and the floor was wide open which really made you want to explore the store vs feeling trapped in a box and gave you something to do while the budtender was weighing up your purchase. I was extremely pleased with the setup and design as well as how a budtender could have no problem stepping out from behind the counters to walk you around the shop or talk to you about different things. The budtender I talked to was EXTREMELY well versed in cannabis genetics as well as the overall industry and had no problems discussing very intellectually my questions about both the industry in Oregon and across the US. He was extremely polite and gave excellent strain recommendations based on the effects I was trying to achieve. I was a little bit disappointed that the smell jars were also the distribution jars as it dries out your stock.
  Oregon's Finest – Convention Center, Budtender Room
  The purchase process was smooth however, and nothing along the way felt rushed. The packaging was also aesthetically beautiful with custom labels that contained full information about the product I was purchasing. In the end, I settled on Durban Poison and Tangie Land which were a touch pricey but were phenomenally grown and tasted wonderful. I do have some concerns with the speed at which people can pass through if it becomes crowded due to the one on one nature of the shop, but its one of those tradeoffs that if you do it right and have the right retail staff that someone who needs that extra help as a medical patient can get the help they need without feeling rushed. The staff at Oregon's Finest really make you feel like a person, not just a customer. The amount of information the budtender wanted to share with me about the product went beyond just 'knowing your stuff' and then showing it off, it was just out of pure passion for the plant. A drive to want to help people make better-informed decisions when it came to their purchases. All in all, I was a big fan of Oregon's Finest, and I hope next time i'm in Portland to stop back by.