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AVONDALE — A Latino- and woman-owned dispensary is joining the Northwest Side’s growing cannabis scene.
Bloc Avondale opened last week at 3545 N. Kedzie Ave., a former mattress and paint warehouse building. Bloc is the first social equity license dispensary for Avondale and the second dispensary to open in the neighborhood.
Louis Lopez, who grew up in Hermosa and Belmont Cragin, owns the dispensary. It’s one of 11 stores nationwide from operator Justice Cannabis Co., which was started by Chicago civil rights attorneys in 2014. Justice CEO Alexzandra Fields, who lives in Lakeview, helps run the shop.
Butterfly art can be found around the shop, an intentional theme that represents immigration and culture, Lopez said. Monarch butterflies stop in Mexico during their migration, a metaphor for the Latino journey to Chicago.
“The idea was that the butterfly starts off on Kedzie and brings you down the corridor all the way through the artwork, through the milk breeds, like they do in their actual journey, and bring you into Avondale,” Lopez said.
Bloc dispensary’s signature neighborhood mural by local artist Rodney Duran features Bloc’s monarch theme, Latino motifs and the area’s street names. Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club Chicago
The team’s diversity is one thing that sets them apart from other dispensary leadership, opening the door for more representation, access and influence in the industry, Lopez said.
“I’m Latino, one of the few minorities that won a dispensary license, but on on top of that is the fact that our CEO is female, our general manager is female, and I think that’s what’s really dope about us,” Lopez said.
Being from the area and living close was also important for Lopez in opening the shop, as is “having a seat at the table” as the industry booms, he said.
At a recent cannabis leaders conference, Fields learned she is the only CEO of a cannabis company who doesn’t own the company in the United States, she said.
Fields hopes she can inspire other women, including her daughter.
“My 9-year old daughter is able to say that her mom’s a CEO,” Fields said. “When I was growing up, my mom was a secretary, and she was always going to be the secretary; she didn’t know that she could go upwards or do other things. My role being one of the few female CEOs in cannabis gives my daughter and other women inspiration that they can get there, too.”
33rd Ward Superintendent Eric Ramos, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) and Bloc owner Louis Lopez smile next to a cannabis-themed mural inside the dispensary on Oct. 18, 2024. Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club Chicago
The dispensary owners want the space to liven up the Avondale corner with more events, community partnerships and art. A long corridor inside the building features artwork by local artist Rodney Duran, but Lopez hopes to treat the space like a rotating gallery.
Bloc also has an outdoor green space that owners hope can be used for community events to further ingrain themselves in the neighborhood.
For Lopez, the main goal of getting into the cannabis world is being able to create a space, financially and physically, to give back to the Latino community, particularly people who have been hurt by the war on drugs.
“I think it puts us in position to really go back and help the last portion of people in our community,” he said. “Outside of this, how do I create partnership with Rincon Family Services, Intentional Sports in Austin, how do I make sure they stay funded, through this or other fundraisers?
“That’s what got me here … . At the end of the day, this is bigger than me, and it’s how I can give back.”
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“}]] Bloc Dispensary owners want the space to liven up the Avondale area with more events, community partnerships and art. Read More