Peru dispensary Stash set to open in August

The cannabis industry in La Salle County is slowly developing, as a new dispensary in Peru is set to open in August.

Stash is located at 1320 E. 38th St. at the site of a former Jimmy John’s restaurant. The dispensary will become the second one in La Salle County once it opens. The other dispensary is Verilife, located at 4104 Columbus St. in Ottawa.

General Manager Adam Kastor said he was excited to interact with the community he grew up around. Kastor is a graduate of Princeton High School.

“We feel like we’re going to be providing a service for those who have to travel quite a ways or don’t have the options that they might have had before. We are very happy to be in this community, in the La Salle-Peru area,” he said.

Kastor said the opening date was a “moving target,” but they hope to open in August. The dispensary will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.

The store will be accepting cash, and will offer a debit card system “a little bit” after the store opens, Kastor said.

Reed Construction, the company that completed the work, announced on its Facebook page it was “thrilled to partner with Atul Karkhanis Architects Ltd. to renovate a 3,650-square-foot former sandwich shop into this sleek new dispensary.”

The project included 30,000 square feet of exterior site renovations, such as a new parking lot, curb alignment and signage, among other things, the construction company said.

Peru’s dispensary was one of 149 licenses selected by Gov. JB Pritzker’s office and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from three lotteries conducted in the summer of 2021.