1st Recreational Cannabis Dispensary To Open In Batavia

BATAVIA, IL — Batavia will get its first recreational cannabis dispensary later this year after the majority of the City Council voted in its favor.

Rubino Ventures will now be able to move forward with updating the storefront at 144 S. Randall Road, the site of the former Arby’s, to transform it into Dutchess Cannabis. The fast-food restaurant closed in 2022 and has remained vacant since.

Batavia City Council approved the developer’s conditional use permit on Jan. 21 with an 11-1 vote. The ordinance was supported by alderpersons Robin Barraza, Tim Lanci, Kevin Malone, Alan Wolff, Christopher Solfa, Jennifer Baerren, Leah Leman, George Ajazi, Tony Malay, Mark Uher and Sarah Vogelsinger. One alderperson was absent and another abstained.

On Dec. 18, the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-0, with one absent, in favor of the project.

Construction on the dispensary is slated to begin in February, and the business would open by June 4, Dutchess Cannabis Vice President of Operations Alexis Bigi-Prow has said, according to a report from the Daily Herald.

Plans include updating the circa 1996 building’s facade, signage and landscaping. The Batavia dispensary will employ about 14 people, with about seven staff members on each shift.

In an advisory referendum question in the November 2020 election, 63 percent of Batavia residents were in favor — with 37 percent opposed — of cannabis dispensaries opening in the city.

Dutchess Cannabis currently operates locations in Oak Park and Morton Grove and is looking to open dispensaries in Lake Zurich and North Riverside, according to Batavia documents.