South-side wellness store closes

A south-side store offering alternative wellness solutions has closed.

SoL Farms, located at 4139 S. National Ave. in the Twin Oaks Shopping Center, announced the closure, effective immediately, in a Nov. 20 Facebook post.

"This decision comes after an unexpected and immediate directive from our building's landlord, driven by complex insurance and compliance challenges that are unfortunately beyond our control," the post reads.

Rachel Lee, co-founder of SoL Farms, said in a message this morning that the decision amounted to an "immediate, forced closure."

"This action was unavoidable, driven by the cumulative pressure of shifting federal regulations and irreconcilable building tenancy requirements," Lee said.

Springfield Business Journal has sought additional comment from thelandlord on the circumstances behind the closure. Post Time Properties LLC owns Twin Oaks Shopping Center, according to Greene County assessor and Missouri secretary of state records.

SoL Farms, short for Seed of Life Farms, became the new name of the store in the Twin Oaks Shopping Center last year, according to past reporting. The business previously operated as Hemporium. 

The store's offerings have included adaptogenic mushrooms, psychedelic mushroom spores and grow kits, cannabis, kava, cacao, blue lotus and hape, an herbal snuff. Psilocybin mushrooms, hallucinogenic mushrooms that are commonly known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, are not legal under federal law and were not sold at the store. The spores themselves, which allow customers to grow psilocybin mushrooms, are not illegal, according to past reporting. 

In the Facebook post, SoL Farms officials said the company plans to continue through a concept called SoL Village.

"This is not an ending, but a profound pivot," the post reads. "We are now entirely focused on establishing the SoL Village – a farm and a permanent home where true healing, connection and conscious growth can flourish for generations to come.

"​Please stay tuned. Our path forward will be shared very soon, and it will be one built on permanence, autonomy and the unshakeable power of our collective spirit."