Local cannabis dispensary looks to postpone 24-hour drive-thru proposal

Mark Hendren: Flora Farms would likely offer 24-hour drive-thru if city code allowed it.

A company seeking a Springfield city code change to allow marijuana dispensaries to operate a drive-thru 24 hours a day has paused its proposal to seek additional information. 

The proposal was initially part of the agenda submitted for the city’s March 12 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. However, the matter was postponed at the request of the submitting company, V3 MO Vending 5 LLC, which operates a Terrabis dispensary at 850 E. Kearney St.

Currently, Springfield ordinance states all marijuana and medical marijuana facilities must be closed to the public between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Nick Liaromatis, co-founder and chief legal officer with Terrabis, said that the company was seeking drive-thru services be allowed to operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week. 

“The initial submission was for drive-thru only,” he said, noting a change to drive-thru hours of operation would apply to all marijuana dispensaries within city limits. “The interior of the building wouldn’t be open under this proposed text amendment.”

Liaromatis said it essentially would add an additional shift at the Terrabis dispensary. 

“It’s something that would require both hourly employees and an overnight shift manager,” he said. “So, you’re essentially bringing in a whole additional crew of people to run the store.”

According to the city staff report, the applicant asked for changes to city ordinance “to better serve customers whose schedules or medical needs require extended access to cannabis products outside current permitted operating hours.”

However, upon receiving the city staff report prepared by Daniel Neal, senior planner, prior to the March 12 meeting, Liaromatis said there were concerns noted in it the company wanted to discuss internally and with the municipality before resubmitting its proposal.

“After reading that staff report, we requested to be taken off of the agenda and look forward to coming back with a proposal that reflects what we’ve heard,” he said.

Concerns raised
Among the concerns raised in the report were ones from the Springfield Police Department, which said dispensary hours were established to balance the interest of the community at large with business interests. However, amending the hours of operation as proposed could have a negative impact to safety and security in the areas around the dispensaries. 

Police officials also said the amendment could set a dangerous precedent for businesses such as liquor stores to “submit requests to do likewise,” according to the report.

“We take the concerns raised in the staff report seriously,” Liaromatis said, adding the company is looking to engage some of the stakeholders, such as city staff, to get a better understanding of what makes sense for the community, customers and the company. “This would open a can of worms to have other intoxicating businesses look to be treated with 24-hour operation.”

Liaromatis said Terrabis is “committed to getting this done right and not necessarily getting it done fast.”

In competition
Terrabis opened its Springfield location in 2021 and operates nine dispensaries in Missouri and Illinois, according to the company website. The Springfield drive-thru is currently open nightly until 10 p.m. The latest hours of operation for a drive-thru at one of its dispensaries is in O’Fallon, where it is open until midnight Wednesday-Saturday. 

If amended based on the initial Terrabis proposal, the city code would allow all dispensaries with a drive-thru to operate during the extended hours, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

One of those would be Humansville-based Flora Farms LLC, which operates 12 dispensaries in Missouri, including one location in Springfield. That store at 2825 N. Glenstone Ave., less than 2 miles from the Terrabis shop, has a drive-thru. Flora Farms President Mark Hendren said his company hasn’t strongly considered 24-hour drive-thru operations before. However, it would likely do so if it were in allowed in Springfield.

“Obviously, there’s only so much business, and if we see that our business is going to our competitor because of that feature, we’d have to add it just to stay competitive,” he said. 

Keeping a drive-thru open 24 hours a day would likely require at least three more employees at the dispensary, Hendren said. 

“Depending on the volume of business, it might be more,” he said.

Amendment 3, the state’s constitutional amendment which legalized recreational marijuana, does not place restrictions on operating hours of licensed cannabis facilities, according to Lisa Cox, communications director with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The amendment places authority with local governments to regulate operating hours for marijuana establishments.

There are nine marijuana dispensaries within Springfield city limits, according to the P&Z report. 

Under consideration
Meanwhile, Liaromatis said Terrabis is reviewing its application, noting it will undergo changes before it is resubmitted to P&Z. 

“I don’t know what that’s going to look like right now,” Liaromatis said. “Is there room for something less than 24 hours but longer than the current hours posted? Yeah, of course.”

Bob Hosmer, planning manager for the city, said he has not been notified of when Terrabis will resubmit its application. He said the company will have to pay for another public notice to be published, which will need to run at least 15 days prior to the meeting. 

Liaromatis said he’s not placing a timetable on when the company will be back on the P&Z agenda. He said it’s possible it could be as early as May. The P&Z Commission’s first meeting of that month is May 7, according to the city’s website. 

“If we miss that one, we’ll try to catch the next one,” he said.