Marijuana company makes 2nd push to open dispensary at old Rainforest Cafe in River North

Palatine-based Progressive Therapy Options, or PTS Corp., which presently operates 4 Devour dispensaries and a cultivation heart in Illinois, desires to maneuver a dual-use pot store from 6428 N. Milwaukee Ave. to 605 N. Clark St., which beforehand housed the colourful Rainforest Cafe till it closed amid the pandemic in August 2020.

A earlier effort by PTS to maneuver its Devour Dispensary to the location was denied, saying it was unlawful beneath state legislation.

A dispensary cannot open inside 1,500 toes of an present pot store until it is owned by a so-called social fairness applicant, in line with Chris Slaby, a spokesman for the Illinois Division of Monetary and Skilled and Regulation.

There are at the very least three dispensaries that seem like inside that distance. PTS, one of many authentic companies to get approval to promote pot in Illinois, doesn’t have social fairness standing, a designation created to diversify the white-dominated weed enterprise.

Dispensaries that promote medical and leisure weed, like Devour in Norwood Park, can also’t legally transfer exterior their designated medical district, Slaby mentioned. However PTS would want to just do that to maneuver to the shuttered Rainforest Cafe constructing.

The corporate is attempting once more after partnering with a social fairness agency.

The Solar-Instances Media Wire contributed to this report.