Spark’d dispensary opens in Richmond

A year and a day after Zachary Zises pulled his request for a marijuana dispensary from consideration by the Richmond Plan Commission, Spark’d opened in the village.

On Monday, the marijuana dispensary he owns with his brother Bryan Zises and others opened to the public at a different location than the one first proposed in the community. A grand opening and ribbon-cutting was held on Wednesday for the dispensary.

McHenry County now has marijuana dispensaries in Lake in the Hills, Crystal Lake, Cary and Richmond, with more expected by the end of the year.

Bryan Zises praised Richmond for its work getting the dispensary open.

“The village of Richmond has been extraordinarily helpful,” in getting the dispensary up and running, he said. “They have been one of the best.”

Originally, the brothers proposed constructing a new building to house a dispensary at 5500 Swallow Ridge Drive - less than a half-mile from the Wisconsin state line. Neighbors - including those supportive of getting a dispensary in town - said the location would not work based on traffic there, leading the Zises to rethink the proposal.

Instead, they bought the former Blackhawk Bank at 9705 Prairie Ridge Road. The bank is next to Richmond City Hall and the Richmond Police Department.

The former bank location now offers both a dispensary and a consumption lounge. In the lounge, marketing manager Abigail Watkins said, patrons can remain for up to 90 minutes. Various recreational marijuana paraphernalia also is available for customers to rent while they are in the lounge, Watkins said.

“I am glad for this day, finally,” Richmond Village President Toni Wardanian said.

She noted the Richmond location is the northernmost dispensary in Illinois and “the crown jewel” of marijuana stores.

How much the village will receive in sales tax from Spark’d is still unknown, she added.

“Who has a crystal ball? But we are positive of what this can do for us through tax money,” Wardanian said.

Staff spent Monday and Tuesday getting prepared for the grand opening, Wardanian said.

One of those employees was Rachael Schrader. She grew up just outside of Richmond and now lives in McHenry.

Spark’d Richmond is her second job in Illinois’ legal marijuana industry, having worked at RISE-Mundelein. For the past five years, Schrader has been a marijuana judge in multiple states for “High Times” magazine, she said.

“I judge the top quality cannabis in Illinois,” Schrader said. As a budtender, she also helps customers determine what kind of marijuana they want, including flower, edibles, drinkable, vape pens and others.

Everyone’s system is different, as is what they want from ingesting pot, she said.

Drake Austin is another employee who was working in the Spark’d consumption lounge Wednesday.

“Cannabis is one of those things that brings people together” from across the board and from different backgrounds, Austin said.

He also suggested anyone who has not used marijuana in the past to talk to staff members about how to use it “responsibly, and what is best for you,” Austin said.

Spark’d Richmond, and its consumption lounge, is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.