A sign on the door of Oak Park’s MedMen says the recreational cannabis dispensary is temporarily closed.
“We apologize for any inconvenience and we hope to re-open soon,” the sign said.
Branches of the California-based company have closed across the country, signaling it could be a matter of time before the Lake Street location reports it is permanently closed, too.
MedMen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The store began selling recreational marijuana in January 2020. That March, it received a cease and desist notice from the Village of Oak Park for failing to maintain social distancing requirements during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2024, MJBizDaily, a news outlet for those in the recreational and medical cannabis industry, reported that 25 workers at the Oak Park location were cut.
In March, the same organization reported that MedMen closed all of its locations except two in California. One is in San Diego and the other is near Los Angeles International Airport, according to the article.
Oak Park officials could not confirm if the store was permanently closed.
But Erik Jacobsen, the village’s communications manager, provided Wednesday Journal with details of the amount of local cannabis tax collected by the state and distributed to Oak Park. MedMen is the only business in Oak Park that collects local cannabis tax, Jacobsen said in an email.
In fiscal year 2020, the village received $198,518.49 in local cannabis tax revenue. The following year, it increased to $337,604.38. In 2022, that fell to $284,917.15. So far, for fiscal year 2023, the village received just $176,341.22 in cannabis tax revenue. Jacobsen wrote the village has not yet received the December 2023 distribution, but anticipates about $11,000 more.
That revenue will be lost if MedMen in Oak Park does close permanently. The village does not yet have a plan to replace that revenue beyond supporting new businesses in Oak Park, Jacobsen wrote.
Oak Park cannabis buyers may soon have another nearby dispensary to try. Block Club Chicago reported that The 1937 Group, an Illinois cannabis operator, plans to open a location in Forest Park in April.