Sway, first all-minority, all-LGBTQ marijuana dispensary in Illinois, opens in Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois' first all-minority, LGBTQ, and veteran-owned marijuana dispensary opened Friday in the Northalsted neighborhood on Chicago's North Side.
Sway, partly owned by the co-owners of the popular bar Sidetrack will open across the street, in what was once the Town Hall Pub bar that closed in 2021.
The project is a collaboration between Edie Moore, a Black veteran who has fought for equity in the state's legal marijuana industry, and LGBTQ civil rights leaders and entrepreneurs Art Johnston and José "Pepe" Peña.
Johnston and Peña met in Chicago in 1973 and fell in love, and later helped open Sidetrack, a popular LGBTQ+ bar on Halsted Street.
Sway's owners said it's one of the only queer-owned cannabis businesses in the country.
"We're grateful for the overwhelming support of our community and neighbors as we move one step closer to opening a successful, inclusive dispensary," Peña said after the city's Zoning Board of Appeals signed off on the dispensary last year. "Together, we're building a safe, welcoming space that will positively contribute to the future of one of the country's few remaining queer enclaves."