Cannabis companies drop controversial plan for weed shop at site of former Rainforest Cafe

A clouted cannabis partnership has dropped its controversial plan to open a store at the former Rainforest Cafe in downtown Chicago. State regulators had rejected a previous proposal by Progressive Treatment Solutions LLC, or PTS Corp., to move its Consume dispensary from Norwood Park to the old Rainforest Cafe at Clark and Ohio streets. The site is within 1,500 feet of three existing dispensaries, in violation of state law. So PTS formed a partnership with Bio-Pharm LLC, claiming they could locate within the exclusion zone because Bio-Pharm qualified as a social equity licensee, meant to diversify the white-dominated industry. But two lawsuits challenged the legality of the proposal, delaying the business from opening. In response to recent Tribune inquiries, Mara Georges, an attorney who represented PTS and was the city of Chicago’s longtime corporation counsel, wrote, “The development of the former Rainforest Cafe site was delayed by litigation and the uncertainty and additional costs it brings. As a result, PTS and Bio-Pharm have decided to forego this site and pursue other options. They remain committed to ensuring the success of their companies and of the cannabis industry.” Nearby resident Robert Brown had filed a lawsuit claiming that the city illegally approved zoning for the site. Brown also objected that the River North neighborhood had so many dispensaries that it was becoming the city’s unofficial marijuana district. GRI Holdings, the owner of the nearby Green Rose dispensary, also filed suit against the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, claiming that by reversing itself and allowing the store to open, it was violating state law. In response to the news about the Rainforest site, GRI issued a statement that its lawsuit was filed to protect GRI from unfair competition. “We are happy to hear they no longer will pursue a dispensary at this location,” GRI stated. “We hope this sends a message to others that we will always vigorously defend our business from those who chose to circumvent state law that was set up to protect social equity dispensaries, not thwart them.” The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued this guidance pertaining to the 1,500-foot rule. Department spokesman Chris Slaby wrote to the Tribune, “We welcome further legislative clarity on this complex issue, recognizing that zoning matters are generally best enforced by local governments.” People walk past the former Rainforest Cafe in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2023. State law generally defines social equity businesses as those owned by people from areas with high poverty or high arrest rates for cannabis, or people with prior low-level cannabis arrests. PTS officials said they qualified because its initial majority owner and manager, Michael Munroe Jr., had a marijuana arrest in 1972. His father started the Pickens-Kane Moving & Storage Co. in Chicago. But the principal officers of PTS, based in Palatine, are now listed in state records as attorney Mitchell Kay and President David Flood, whose family owns the Flood Brothers waste disposal company. Flood was also the former principal officer of the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois, which became the Cannabis Business Alliance of Illinois. The alliance represents many of the companies that dominate the industry. PTS operates a marijuana growing warehouse and five dispensaries in Illinois, as well as outlets in other states. rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com