Montrose just got a loud new splash of color courtesy of House of Ho personality Washington Ho, who joined a group of partners to open a pink‑themed cannabis and wellness shop last Monday. The team is not thinking small; they say they want to scale the concept to roughly 500 locations over the next five years. The debut storefront blends CBD and THC products with supplements, energy drinks, edibles, vapes and a limited amount of smokable items inside a 1,760‑square‑foot, boutique‑style space.
As reported by Bisnow, Pink Flora Co. opened at 3311 S. Shepherd Drive and occupies about 1,760 square feet. The outlet notes that CEO Kazi Ashik told the Houston Business Journal the partners are already scouting locations in The Woodlands, Austin and Dallas as part of their five‑year expansion plan. "We're changing the name for what a dispensary is," Ashik told the HBJ, and the buildout leans into that idea with glass on three sides and Instagram‑ready pink sidewalks and fixtures.
Pink Flora keeps smokable products to roughly 30% of its inventory, a choice that could insulate the brand as Texas rules shift. State regulators adopted a new "total THC" testing standard that took effect at the end of March and briefly pulled many smokable hemp products from shelves before a Travis County judge temporarily blocked parts of the rule. Local reporting by Community Impact explains how the pause, plus ongoing litigation, keeps the market in flux.
Other investors in Pink Flora include Mohammed Chowdhury, owner of the Bahama Mama smoke‑shop chain, and Ashik, who serves as CEO. Bisnow reports that Ho took a role at Bahama Mama last year as chief innovation officer, and the group is betting that retail real‑estate experience plus new product lines will help the brand travel beyond Montrose.
Ho has dabbled in cannabis‑adjacent ventures before. A 2023 press release shows he co‑founded HoBuzz, a Delta‑8 THC seltzer launched with Tony Buzbee and local partners, and the Houston Chronicle later reported HoBuzz stopped production in spring 2024. Background on the beverage effort is available from GlobeNewswire and Houston Chronicle.
Legal and regulatory implications
The DSHS rule change and the industry’s lawsuit leave hemp and cannabis retailers on an unstable playing field, complete with higher registration fees and the possibility of stepped‑up enforcement if the state ultimately prevails. Local reporting from Community Impact notes that the temporary restraining order is time‑limited, so the future of smokable hemp sales in Texas will hinge on the court’s decision and any follow‑up rulemaking by regulators.
What to watch
For local readers, the big questions are how quickly Pink Flora signs additional Houston leases and whether the partners try to plant their pink flag outside Texas while regulations remain in flux. The boutique design and broad product mix signal a pitch to mainstream shoppers, not just seasoned dispensary regulars, but regulatory and licensing costs may slow how fast the team can really get from one Montrose shop to a 500‑store footprint.
