Cannabis dispensary sets eyes on former Graziano’s restaurant site in Niles
Two cannabis companies are working together and seeking to convert the former Graziano’s Brick Oven Pizza in Niles into a dispensary, according to the chief operating officer of one of the companies.
Tim O’Hern, COO of Nature’s Grace and Wellness, told Pioneer Press his company and the Illinois Cannabis Company are working together to open what would be Niles’ second cannabis dispensary. He said while there isn’t a firm timeline and there hasn’t been a decision on what to name the store, he is hoping for a spring or early summer opening.
Niles’ first dispensary, Rise, located at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Golf Road, opened its doors in 2020. Mitch Johnson, communications and multimedia coordinator for the village of Niles, told Pioneer Press the village’s second cannabis district was approved by the village board in June 2022 and that various parties have shown interest in opening a dispensary since then.
Charles Ostman, Niles’ former community development director who has since retired, signed a conditional approval for O’Hern and ICC to open a dispensary at 5960 West Touhy Avenue on Sept. 18. O’Hern submitted the application for the dispensary on May 23.O’Hern said he is now waiting for the village to approve building permits allowing him to renovate and improve the property. If all goes well, he said he is hoping construction could start before the year’s end.
Before the dispensary receives an official certificate of registration, NGW and ICC need to accomplish various tasks, including obtaining building permits and employee background checks and submitting a copy of the store’s state cannabis license to the village. They would need to do so within 180 days of Sept. 18, and they are allowed a renewal of 180 days. If they don’t meet those deadlines, they would need to reapply from scratch, according to Ostman’s conditional approval.
ICC has the cannabis license for the store, and NGW is partnering with them to provide management services, according to O’Hern. “They (ICC) don’t have experience running cannabis dispensaries,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of years of experience in cannabis and are giving them access to that experience to help get the store set up and operating.”
NGW operates a dispensary in Peoria named Trinity and works in cultivation and manufacturing from its farm in Vermont, Illinois.
According to their website, the O’Hern family goes back five generations working in agriculture.
After a 30-year run in Niles, Graziano’s announced its closure in October. Manager Steve Demet told Pioneer Press that Graziano’s had always been successful and had no problems related to COVID-19, high food costs, or labor shortages. A tire shop is slated to begin construction on the site of its former parking lot.
