Market 96 opens first cannabis dispensary with plans for five more in Illinois

A Thursday ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for Market 96's first location in Oswego.

Market 96 opened its first Chicago-area cannabis dispensary last week and plans to launch five more, including a downtown site slated to open next year.

A Thursday ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for Market 96's first location in Oswego, a 2,500-square-foot facility with 25 employees.

The second location will be a 3,700-square-foot leased site at 527 S. Wells St. in Chicago’s South Loop.

The dispensary plans to open two more locations in the Chicago area, as well as sites in Belleville and Cairo in downstate Illinois, said Sherri Blount, founding partner of Market 96's parent company Blounts & Moore.

In addition to having six adult dispensary licenses, Market 96, a social-equity dispensary, also has two craft grow licenses, which allow it to cultivate, dry, cure and package cannabis products, and sell wholesale to other licensed cannabis businesses in Illinois. The company also has a transport license that allows it to transport cannabis and cannabis-infused products to other cannabis businesses in Illinois.

“We are always assessing the market and exploring future opportunities,” Blount said.

Since Jan. 1, 2020, when selling recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois, demand has grown, with more than 100 licenses have been issued. Last year, adult use cannabis dispensaries sold $1.5 billion worth of products, which is an increase of more than 12% from 2021 and 131% from 2020, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Source: bizjournals.com