A customer checks out at Nirvana Cannabis Dispensary in Menominee, Michigan on August 6, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
MENOMINEE, Mich. (WTAQ-WLUK) — It could be easier said than done for the city of Menominee to get to the number of dispensaries that residents overwhelmingly supported in a vote Tuesday.
85% of voters agreed the city should cap the number of pot shops at nine.
Nirvana Cannabis Dispensary opened almost two years ago, but is still averaging 600 new customers per week, according to store general manager Amanda Faubert.
“A vast majority of our customers are 50+ and they come here for medicinal reasons. Not just to light a joint up or to smoke a bowl,” said Faubert. “It’s to help them with their medical needs.”
Faubert thinks it’s unfortunate a cap is being placed on the number of dispensaries in the city.
“We would love to be a Noah’s Ark of Menominee with the dispos,” said Faubert. “Let’s outnumber the bars here in town.”
“We are in the middle of a unique economic moment here in Menominee, but nine dispensaries is enough,” said Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman.
Hoffman sided with most voters in capping dispensaries at nine. That’s the number of licenses issued as of right now, but he says the city plans to get to 13 licenses, because four other shops have already invested to come to Menominee.
Granting licenses to those incoming businesses could become tricky if a recent court-ordered pause on issuing licenses remains in place.
“The bottom line is, the companies that have been investing into Menominee have the better legal argument,” said Hoffman. “If they were to sue the city of Menominee, the city of Menominee would lose.”
The pause on licenses was to allow for Tuesday’s vote to happen. A judge is expected to decide next week whether to lift the pause.
Hoffman says special permits could be a solution to allow the incoming dispensaries to operate. The plan is to go from 13 dispensaries to nine through attrition.
Dispensaries in other Upper Michigan communities are closing their doors. Rize is closing its Marquette location, making it the second dispensary there to close in just the last few months.
“The average border store in Michigan is doing like 50% to 60% more sales than the average store across the state,” said Ben Burstein, who analyzes the industry for Leaflink, a wholesale marketplace for cannabis.
Burstein says Michigan has the most affordable retail prices in the country, with the average price of an item being $7. For comparison, the average item price in New York is $40. In Maryland, it’s $50.
He says the drop in prices and increased competition has led to unprofitable business for some, but doesn’t see that as a major factor for stores in border towns.
Burstein talked about how long it might take Menominee to go from 13 dispensaries to nine.
“The big question is on how much demand for cannabis purchases there are from the across border towns, especially in Green Bay,” said Burstein. “I’ve seen on our platform data, it has been relatively strong for the stores open today. So, we’d expect them to have enough sales to support their growth over time.”
“Prices don’t really matter here in Menominee,” said Faubert.
Perhaps the only thing that could impact sales in Menominee would be legalization in Wisconsin, which doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon. Even then, nearby Marinette has already passed a prohibition on cannabis shops.
Comments