Lake View’s newest pot dispensary is within a home run’s distance of Wrigley Field.
Sunnyside opened a mere 400 feet from the Friendly Confines Monday with the hopes of serving weed-inclined fans, concert-goers and other North Siders.
The dispensary, which is 10,000 square feet in size, sits in a row of bar and restaurants after it took over the space formerly occupied by John Barleycorn at 3524 N. Clark St. It will sell marijuana vapes, edibles, pre-rolls and more to casual stoners and medical marijuana patients alike. The store also offers the smokable flower, as well as concentrates, infused beverages and a slew of branded merchandise.
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“Sunnyside is [dedicated] to normalizing the way that people shop for Cannabis,” said Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, which operates Sunnyside, at a Monday ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“There should be no stigma associated with it. The fact that we are here sort of at the intersection of ‘Main’ and ‘Main’ is the future of cannabis.”
The new dispensary will replace a smaller Sunnyside dispensary two blocks north. The new location is more than 10 times the size of its predecessor and features 21 registers.
Residents and several politicians celebrated the opening of the large dispensary.
“It’s definitely good for the community,” said Alec Slapinksi, of Elgin. “I just feel like it uplifts everyone. It brings everyone in a better mood. It’s legal. It’s nice to be able to buy it.”
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“I hope [this] will be an opportunity to give people what they want — and that is a safe place to purchase and a product that they can trust,” said State Rep. La Shawn Ford, who’s West Side district does not include Sunnyside but who was involved in writing legislation on marijuana legalization.
The old dispensary will be repurposed as the Illinois Cannabis Education Center.
The center will provide cannabis instruction, centered on weed entrepreneurship and the history of the war on drugs, to members of communities adversely impacted by the war on drugs.
“You can’t normalize and professionalize cannabis without bringing social equity into that conversation,” said Chima Enyia, the vice president of social equity and educational development at Cresco Labs.
“We have to lift as we climb. As Cresco makes more money, we need to lift everybody else up as well.”
Enyia hopes the center, which will open in early 2022, will help launch the careers of many minority cannabis entrepreneurs.
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Meanwhile, Ford and state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (6th) touted the economic benefits of local dispensaries, saying taxes on the cannabis industry have become critical public revenue sources since recreational pot was legalized legalized last year.
“This has been a long time coming,” Feigenholtz said of the dispensary.
“I’m very excited about today. I can’t wait to take a tour, and, of course, a sample,” she quipped.
