Two marijuana entrepreneurs held an open house Friday Jan. 15 at a building around three miles south of Grand Lake where they hope to open their doors.

MMK Limited has applied for a retail marijuana license from Grand County, though a hearing date hasn’t been set. Kevin Speier of MMK Limited said the open house was meant to introduce the business to the community and garner support from residents. Speier and his partner, Matt Brien, had a table covered in literature introducing some of the brands of marijuana products the business hopes to sell as well as some educational material about marijuana products.

“We really want to push the education,” Brien said.

MMK Limited may sound familiar to Granby residents. The business entered a protracted battle with the Town of Granby last year over a proposed marijuana business just outside of town limits. Granby doesn’t allow marijuana businesses to operate in the town. That conflict ended when Granby annexed the property, effectively shutting the door on the business.

“Just the demand for the industry up here is really high, whether or not it’s outspoken,” Speier said. “There’s people who don’t want to have to drive an hour round trip to have safe access to a product.

After the annexation, the two decided that they wanted to keep their efforts focused on Grand County, Brien said.

The two say the new property, set back from U.S. Highway 34, is a better location, in part because it’s less conspicuous.

“With our last location, given the affect of the community, it was highly visible right off the highway,” Speier said.

The new location is also preferable because there are no schools in Grand Lake, Speier said. Scott and Lisa Turan, who own the building MMK Limited hopes to eventually purchase, said they see nothing wrong with the business.

“We’re OK with it,” Scott said. “We’re for it. I mean, it’s legal. It’s a legal business.”

The couple said that because their property meets all the requisites for a marijuana business, they’d received multiple solicitations from others hoping to purchase it.

“I think it’s the perfect location if it’s going to happen up here,” Lisa said.

Les Woodward, who owns an adjoining property, spoke with Speier at length about the operation. Woodward has lived in the Grand Lake area for around 30 years, he said.

“As long as it’s done legally, and I can’t smell it at my place, I’m in favor of it,” Woodward said.

Other attendees declined to speak with a reporter.