In his youth, Chuck Brewer was arrested for marijuana possession. Though hashish use was nonetheless extremely taboo on the time (early 2000s), he at all times knew there can be a shift in public notion about its utilization. He simply didn’t know when. His brother, Matt had an concept of when that change would come, although.
“It’s humorous, I first received concerned within the enterprise aspect again in 2014, and I keep in mind on the time having a dialog with my mother about entering into hashish, and it was very totally different than what it will be now,” Matt advised ESSENCE. A Chicago-based litigation legal professional, he took an interest within the trade after seeing medical marijuana grow to be authorized in Illinois that 12 months.
“Though most people’s perspective was nonetheless very largely unfavorable on the time, I knew what a revolution was coming and I wished to part of it.” He stated that his mom Diane was extremely supportive of his aspirations however posed an important query: “are you prepared for the dangers?”
Not solely was he prepared, Matt readied his household to make the leap with him, and made historical past alongside the best way.
In February 2023, the household opened the primary minority-independently-owned hashish store—The Grasshopper Membership—a feat since many of the others are supported by marijuana buyers or a multi-state operator. The enterprise was funded virtually totally by Matt and his household.
The Brewers acquired a social fairness license from the state to open the dispensary in 2019, which was spearheaded by a state program aimed toward dismantling limitations to entry for aspiring BIPOC who wish to get a chunk of the multi-million-dollar pie. The choice to self-fund was a no brainer for Matt, who oversees the store’s enterprise practices.
“We wished to have some possession and true autonomy,” Matt advised ESSENCE. “And there’s nothing mistaken with partnering with MSOs, and plenty of different teams have discovered themselves in a state of affairs the place it was their most suitable choice. But it surely was vital to us to be ready the place we may really resolve what sort of expertise we wished to supply, how we present up locally, and even how we decide merchandise that we’re carrying on our cabinets. And also you lose that sort of freedom when somebody is invested within the enterprise funding.”
Diane Brewer, who runs the enterprise’s accounting, stated her involvement is a brand new journey for her. She got here out of retirement after working for many years as an accountant to assist her sons.
“Who knew I might be doing this at this level in my life,” Diane advised ESSENCE, sharing that she’d been spending most of her time volunteering earlier than her sons approached her to be part of the enterprise’s operations. “I’m actually having fun with the best way individuals work together with the product and seeing the place the trade goes to go.”
