A café which specialises in CBD products – LuNa Central CBD – has opened in Stirling city centre.
The Port Street shop is run by Lucy Turner and Natalie McCormack – whose first names inspired the shop name LuNa.
The takeaway café, based at the former McQueen Gin Emporium, opened on Monday November 28 and business has been steady since then. The shop sells a range of hot drinks plus sandwiches, salads, wraps and home- baking and also offers CBD oils and other products such as bath bombs and skincare.
CBD (cannabidiol) is an active ingredient found in cannabis which has reported health benefits and is most commonly used to treat chronic pain, anxiety, inflammation, substance withdrawal and insomnia.
Café customers can choose to have their cup of tea or coffee infused with CBD products and find out more about the benefits of CBD when they pop in.
Natalie says: “Customers can come in and order a coffee with CBD in it (or not) and also have a look at products – it’s very much an immersive experience and we also have a website with an online shop which people can order from.
We’ve had a mix of people come in so far – those who don’t realise we
specialise in CBD products and just want an ordinary coffee and people who come in specifically to buy CBD oils – and we welcome everyone. The café is for everybody to come in and order a cappuccino or a sandwich and enjoy it with or without an infusion of CBD.”
Natalie and Lucy are friends who met at Stirling’s first CBD café The Hemp Room which closed earlier this year.
Natalie describes The Hemp Room as “her sanctuary” after struggling with mental health issues and discovering the benefits of CBD products. She says: “I was on a number of prescription drugs which had a lot of negative side effects and had been looking into plant medicine when The Hemp Room opened. It was great being able to go into a place where you are not judged for wanting to use plants and where you are able to find the help you need.”
Natalie and Lucy both ended up working in The Hemp Café for a while and wanted to further that experience by launching their own venture.
Natalie says: “We thought about doing festivals and went to the Bannockburn Yarn Festival in the summer but really wanted something that would be an all- year round business.
We also knew there are people in Stirling in dire straits who would benefit from a CBD café and thought we could set something up here. We’ve been able to come off prescriptions for anxiety due to using CBD products – that brought us together and we want to share that experience with other people in Stirling.”
The fact that Stirling also hosts Scotland’s first approved medicinal cannabis clinic – Sapphire Medical Clinics based at the One Allan Park Wellbeing Clinic – also appealed to the women.
Natalie adds: “We both live in Stirling and it seemed the ideal place to open a café. When we looked at the former McQueen Gin shop that premises proved to be perfect and we only needed a colour change and to build the bar before opening up.
The response has been really good so far. We knew people from The Hemp Room who followed us here and we’ve also had new customers including students and older people who have been looking for CBD products to help their children and pets.
It’s great to be able to chat to customers and share our experiences and
eventually we’d also like to have a lounge space so people can sit in while they have a coffee.
The café at 18 Port Street is currently open Monday to Friday from 8am until 5pm except on Wednesdays when it is closed all day. It is also open Sundays from 10am until 5pm.
There is also a website – www.centralcbd.co.uk – with an online shop and a contact page where customers can book an appointment if they want a longer chat about CBD products and their benefits.
Lucy and Natalie can also be contacted on the shop number – 01786 358619 – and LuNa has a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087565623654
LuNa Central CBD is also on Instagram – www.instagram.com/lunaltd_ and Tik
Tok – lunaltd_
