First cannabis store with a bar and a bakery under the same roof opens in Illinois

The first store in Illinois to combine marijuana and alcohol sales opened Wednesday in Wheeling, with its owners hoping to make it a place for customers to hang out and relax.Okay Cannabis is unlike any other business in the state, hosting licensed cannabis sales under the same roof with West Town Bakery, which serves beer, wine and liquor as well as bakery goods and other food.

The majority owner is Charles Mayfield, who is interim chief operating officer for Chicago Public Schools, while Chicago 47th Ward Ald. Ameya Pawar and others are minority owners. They formed a partnership with West Town Bakery to include a cafe and an event space that can be rented out for birthday parties or other occasions.

Through Mayfield, who is African American, the owners qualified as among the first social equity dispensary owners to open in the state, and in the suburbs specifically.

The massive 12,000-square-foot space, on the site of a former Twin Peaks in Wheeling’s restaurant row on Milwaukee Avenue, is far larger than most dispensaries.

The cafe with its bar is separate from the cannabis sales area. The owners hope someday to add a cannabis consumption area.

The store had a soft opening Wednesday, with workers still painting and putting on finishing touches. The grand opening is scheduled for Friday. [Read More @ The Chicago Tribune]