Chicago-headquartered Cresco, a vertically integrated, multistate cannabis operator, received an adult-use dispensing organization license from the Illinois Department of Financial Regulation for its dispensary located at 436 N. Clark Street in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Sunnyside River North will soon begin adult-use cannabis sales online for pick up through a pop-up retail experience.
As part of the procedures they’ve implemented system-wide to eliminate wait lines, crowding and follow social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the dispensary will operate with online orders only through Sunnyside.shop. Once customers receive a notification that their order is ready, they can visit the store at staggered times for order pick up.
The dispensary is located in the former home of the iconic Baton Club, right at the heart of one of the most dynamic downtown neighborhoods of Chicago. River North is home to hotels, restaurants, a variety of nightlife options, as well as residential buildings, offering retailers in the area consistent foot traffic day and night. The area touches the Loop and the Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue, which is Chicago’s premier commercial district and a destination point for Chicago’s 58 million visitors annually.
“We are thrilled to make history in our home city, opening Chicago’s first-ever recreational-only dispensary in such a sought-after location. The state’s approval provides a significant opportunity for Cresco to grow its retail footprint and serve more consumers across the state through six Sunnyside dispensaries—two of which are in Chicago,” said Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs CEO and co-founder. “It is also incredibly rewarding to be able to help the local community during such a challenging and uncertain time by providing more convenient access to downtown residents, adding new jobs and acting as a good community partner to build impactful, positive relationships with local businesses and provide essential products and other support that our community members need.”
The dispensary is one of two licenses that Cresco won in the central business district in the city of Chicago’s lottery and the company’s sixth retail location in Illinois. Cresco also has licenses to open an additional four dispensaries and has so far announced its intention to open locations in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, as well as Danville, Schaumburg and South Beloit in Illinois.
“The Illinois adult-use market is proving to be as robust as forecasted with nearly $110 million in sales during the first three months of 2020 and approximately $188 million including adult and medical sales,” said Bachtell. “With our strategic retail footprint and our expanding cultivation footprint, I am confident that Cresco is well positioned to be a long-term leader in the Illinois market.”
Illinois is expected to be a $2 to $4 billion dollar market at maturity. To strengthen its leading market share in the Illinois market, Cresco is nearing completion of a significant expansion that will bring total cultivation to 243,000 square feet and will considerably increase supply to support its dispensaries and wholesale distribution across the state. Cresco is able to expand its three cultivation facilities to an aggregate total of 630,000 square feet of flowering canopy—the largest capacity footprint allowed in the state. Cresco currently sells into 100 percent of licensed dispensaries in Illinois and has maintained its leading market share of wholesale sales in the state.