The long wait will soon be over for Kewanee’s cannabis consumers.
About a year and a half after remodeling began for the cannabis dispensary in the 600 block of Tenney Street, the facility has passed its state inspection and is set to open in the next few days.
Chad Anderson, a member of the group of investors who put up the funds for the dispensary and the building in which cannabis will be grown, said state inspectors went through the building, which has been remodeled from its previous use as a restaurant.
The inspectors passed the facility, and it will be open as soon as the state sends the license, Anderson said. He said he hopes that will be in the coming week.
Anderson said the state inspectors did require that three new surveillance cameras be installed, bringing the total of cameras there to 75.
There are multiple cameras in each location, Anderson said, so that the entire dispensary will be covered even if a camera malfunctions.
“The inspectors were really great to work with,” he said. He added that in the future, the inspectors will make surprise visits to the facility from time to time.
Some employees have been hired and will be stocking the cannabis into the store, Anderson said. More employees will also be hired.
Obtaining the state license for the dispensary also means that construction of the cannabis grow facility at Railroad Avenue and Cole Street can resume.
Anderson said materials are being delivered for the completion of the facility. Water, sewer and electric lines are also still to be installed.
Until the grow facility opens, which should be by the end of this year, Anderson said the dispensary’s product will be ordered from other grow operations in Illinois.
He said the group operating Kewanee’s cannabis operations has changed its name to Trichome Cannabis Company, after the original president of the company stepped down. The change is displayed in new signage at the Tenney Street facility.
The remodeling for the cannabis dispensary and construction of the grow operation represent an investment of about $1.3 million, Anderson said. And that doesn’t include the amount paid for the building.
