Ohio
Woodward Dispensary
A dispensary buildout in Ohio combining two retail bays into one open, daylit sales floor, with a drive-thru and secure rear service designed in from the start.
The project
Woodward Dispensary is an Ohio retail buildout that combined two retail bays into one daylit sales floor, with a drive-thru and secure rear service. Where most dispensaries turn inward and keep the light low, this one was designed for daylight.
Two retail bays combined into one room
The project started as two separate retail spaces, and the program added a drive-thru and a secure drop-off and pickup area at the rear. Combining them produced one open room with enough area to handle customer circulation, product display, staff work, and secure service in a single plan, and every system inside the envelope was rebuilt around the new layout.
The drive-thru was part of the program from the start. It was planned together with the secure rear area for drop-off and pickup, not attached after the sales floor was laid out.
An open room gives the store its first impression.
Concrete grounds the space beneath it.
A dispensary designed for daylight
The brief pushed against the category's closed-off, low-light default. During scoping, Nick Karakaian asked what a dispensary would look like if it were not trying to look like one. The answer is a room that feels considered first and retail second: natural light, white walls and ceiling, and polished concrete running uninterrupted across the whole floor. The palette is calm and the floor is efficient.
The open room is what makes that work. The customer-facing design centers on how a customer enters and orients, with the central desk, perimeter counters, product walls, and waiting area laid out in one continuous space.
Maple millwork and a tight palette
The palette stays deliberately small: light maple millwork, white subway tile, polished concrete, and white surfaces. A centered front desk wrapped in subway tile, with a light-wood soffit above, anchors the room without dominating it. Behind it, a light-wood wall carries the Woodward wordmark.
A secondary counter, framed brand art, and merchandise built into the millwork line the perimeter. Accent chairs and a planter just inside the door soften the entry instead of turning it into a queue. Recessed downlights on a grid give even light, with track and accent lighting at the product walls and signage.
Architecture beyond the sales floor
Customers see the room, but Arcfluence's scope reached well past it. The full architectural submission covered zoning, exterior changes, site work, exterior lighting, and rooftop equipment coordination with the mechanical and plumbing engineers. Construction administration kept the firm on the project through the build.
Swoon House Studio, led by Tabi Mund, designed the customer-facing interior, and the two firms coordinated closely so the architecture and the interior read as one decision rather than two layers.
As Mund describes the finished interior, "The space is both simple and interesting. The retail experience has an intuitive flow. It provides the right foundation for supporting a well-loved brand."
Rule of Three, led by Garrett Marcum, built the project. A ground-up Woodward location with a double-window drive-thru is in development.