After receiving council approval, medical marijuana dispensary set to open in South

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — If all goes as expected, the city will be home to its first medical marijuana dispensary business by year’s end.

On Monday (Feb. 14) City Council approved without opposition a conditional use permit that will allow a Nevada-based company, named in the legislation as “The Source Holding Ohio, LLC,” to open such a business under the name “The Source” at 14481 Cedar Road.

When medical marijuana sales became legal in Ohio in 2017, South Euclid City Council approved legislation that would allow such businesses in the city as a conditional use. Council also set up guidelines ensuring such businesses were not located within the vicinities of schools, libraries, churches or playgrounds.

In 2018, the first round of state licensing for such businesses did not result in an applicant seeking to open in South Euclid being selected for licensure.

The state took applications in advance of awarding last fall, in a lottery-style drawing, seven additional licenses within Cuyahoga County.

“Twelve applications were received by the city of South Euclid, but only one was picked as one of the seven in the random drawing,” said Economic Development Director Michael Love. “This will be (The Source’s) first dispensary in Ohio.”

The Source will operate from the former Huntington Bank building, which consists of two storefronts, at the Cedar and Green intersection, near the Shell gas station.

“That building has been primarily vacant since about 2016, when the bank moved out,” Love said.

The building was about to become totally vacant as, Love said, Arova restaurant, 14483 Cedar Road, which occupies the other storefront within the building, is planning to move in a couple of months to Cedar Center.

“We think this (dispensary) is a good use,” Love said. “They’ll be doing a comprehensive interior and exterior renovation. The building has plentiful parking and is located at a major intersection. Out of all the locations that were applied for (in South Euclid), the Planning Commission (which last month unanimously recommended approval to council), City Council, and the administration felt that this could be the ideal use. So we were happy this site did get selected.”

Love said that the majority of 12 South Euclid applicants sought to open along Mayfield Road.

When reached by phone, owner, Simon Nankervis, said The Source currently operates dispensaries in Nevada and Massachusetts. In Nevada, The Source has four operating dispensaries, and two under construction. In Massachusetts, it has one store that is set to open this month.

Nankervis said that The Source attempted to open in other Ohio counties, but were not selected in the lotteries to do so.

“Pretty much what we’ve done is we’ve looked at states that are emerging markets,” he said. “Typically, we like to open in medical markets first. That’s the company’s background when we launched it in Nevada in 2015, we launched it as a medical dispensary. Then, as the market moved from medical to recreational, we’ve transitioned.

“So, at this point these are the three markets we’ve been focused on. We’ve had applications in the state of New Jersey. We’re currently in litigation in the state of New Jersey.”

Of South Euclid, Nankervis said, “We love the location. We believe the city has been very pro medical cannabis. They’ve had a very progressive approach to cannabis and dispensaries in the city. We feel really positive about the support we got from the council.”

Nankervis, who said he lived for a number of years in Columbus when working for Designer Brands, said The Source must next get its provisional license from the state board of pharmacy. The Source, which maintains an Ohio office, will lease its South Euclid building.

Before The Source can open, Love said they must also get, after submitting renovation plans, approvals from the city’s building and fire departments.

“Their goal is to hopefully be open by the end of the year, or early 2023 at the latest,” Love said. “They’ve said they’ll be very supportive of community activities. They want to work very closely with our safety forces. They want to work very closely with the city. Hopefully, (community development corporation) One South Euclid, as well. So they sound like they’ll be a great community partner.”

The dispensary will sell medical marijuana, but not grow marijuana. The nearest medical marijuana dispensary to the South Euclid business will be the Buckeye Relief dispensary, expected to open within months on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. Licenses were also awarded in the fall for dispensaries to open in Euclid and Garfield Heights.

See more Sun Messenger news here.