This iconic chain restaurant could become your new cannabis dispensary

With cannabis gaining legal status across the country, a myriad of businesses are now potential options for dispensaries. And what’s weedier and trippier than a restaurant that looks like a jungle? A rainforest cafe with shutters could be converted into a pot shop this summer, Block Club Chicago says.

According to the report, the building in question closed in August 2020 after 23 years of operation. The new pharmacy would be located in the old 22,000-square-foot building, giving the company plenty of space for medicinal and recreational products.

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Photo by Alex Jones via Unsplash

The building is known for its distinctive decoration. Like most rainforest cafes, the decor is cavernous with a wilderness theme. The building’s exterior is known for its displays of greenery, mushrooms, trees, and the like, which would be replaced with something more appropriate for a new store, signaling customers what’s going on inside, even if it seems like a missed opportunity .

“It’s a lot more flavorful and a lot more comforting than the garish stuff that’s out there now,” said Michael Riordan, president of the River North Neighbors Association, the neighborhood where the restaurant is located. “Everything seemed to make sense, so there’s no need not to take it to another level and see what the larger community has to say about it.” If all goes to plan, the new dispensary could be approved in early May.

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These types of messages are becoming more and more common. A few months ago, an old family video store was also offered as a pharmacy in Ohio. Pharmacies need spacious floor plans, facilities that are difficult to fill with new businesses. Dispensaries have an added interest, not only because they’re new and novel, but because it’s weed.