In his youth, Chuck Brewer was arrested for marijuana possession. Though hashish use was nonetheless extremely taboo on the time (early 2000s), he all the time knew there can be a shift in public notion about its utilization. He simply didn’t know when. His brother, Matt had an thought of when that change would come, although.

“It’s humorous, I first received concerned within the enterprise facet again in 2014, and I bear in mind on the time having a dialog with my mother about entering into hashish, and it was very completely different than what it might be now,” Matt informed ESSENCE. A Chicago-based litigation legal professional, he got interested within the trade after seeing medical marijuana develop into authorized in Illinois that 12 months.

“Though most people’s perspective was nonetheless very largely damaging on the time, I knew what a revolution was coming and I needed 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 way in which.

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 nearly completely by Matt and his household.

The Brewers obtained a social fairness license from the state to open the dispensary in 2019, which was spearheaded by a state program geared toward dismantling obstacles to entry for aspiring BIPOC who wish to get a bit 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 needed to have some possession and true autonomy,” Matt informed ESSENCE. “And there’s nothing mistaken with partnering with MSOs, and loads of different teams have discovered themselves in a scenario the place it was their most suitable choice. However it was vital to us to be able the place we might truly resolve what sort of expertise we needed to offer, how we present up in the neighborhood, and even how we choose merchandise that we’re carrying on our cabinets. And also you lose that kind 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 help her sons.

“Who knew I might be doing this at this level in my life,” Diane informed 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 way in which individuals work together with the product and seeing the place the trade goes to go.”