The Alton Dispensary Shares Info about Eviction, Search for New Location

ALTON – The Alton Dispensary has requested the City of Alton's help in its search for a new home.

At a Wednesday night meeting of the Alton City Council, President and CEO of IllinoisCannabis49, Inc., d/b/a The Alton Dispensary, Jeremy Wysocki, asked the council for its assistance in changing an ordinance to allow an adult-use cannabis dispensary to be allowed in an E-5 zone/district. Currently, the City of Alton only allows such facilities to be positioned in E-2 zones/districts. However, ownership of The Alton Dispensary has found a suitable building in an E-5 zone/district.

The need to move locations comes after a Monday, Dec. 18 ruling to evict The Alton Dispensary from its current location at 1400 E. Broadway in Alton. The eviction is the latest in a line of what the dispensary considers “retaliatory efforts” from its former management company, Subsero Alton Ops, LLC and its affiliates. The building itself is owned by Subsero Alton RE, LLC. However, the cannabis license itself as well as the business license is owned by IllinoisCannabis49, Inc., d/b/a The Alton Dispensary.

These retaliatory efforts followed The Alton Dispensary's termination of a management contract with Subsero Alton Ops, LLC in October of 2023. Following the termination of that contract, which was due to as much as $1.8 million dollars of unaccounted funds drained from The Alton Dispensary's account and the diversion of $140,000 in controlled substances from its vault to Moline, Illinois.

Following that termination, The Alton Dispensary alleged Subsero Alton Ops, LLC committed “cyber-attacks” against The Alton Dispensary, including eavesdropping on employees through backdoor camera access and making operations impossible by interfering with their point-of-sale (POS) systems. The Alton Dispensary also alleges Subsero Alton Ops, LLC did not make payroll for their employees, nor did they pay sales taxes, federal income tax nor state income tax. Upon this realization, the owners of The Alton Dispensary immediately took action to ensure the taxes were paid and those employees were financially made whole.

At the city council meeting, Wednesday night, Wysocki invoked the love he has for the employees at The Alton Dispensary, saying they are like family to Wysocki and Wysocki’s wife. He said the dispensary hired as many as 30 folks, including private contractors who work security at the establishment. He said many are single mothers who live in public housing. Mr. Wysocki said “Santa is on the clock” and Wysocki refuses to fail the employees he has grown to view as family.

During the 10 days The Alton Dispensary was closed following the termination of Subsero Alton Ops, LLC, The Alton Dispensary ownership was able to pay their employees as if they were working. When the announcement of the eviction was given to employees Tuesday, ownership promised all of them – including part-time employees – would be paid in full throughout the entire month of January while the dispensary diligently works to ensure its new building is compliant and up-and-running for customers.

The notice of eviction from Subsero Alton RE, LLC also disrupts recent efforts of The Alton Dispensary to help the City of Alton and its most vulnerable populations. Currently, the dispensary is in the midst of an extremely successful food drive for the Crisis Food Center. It is still accepting donations of non-perishable food for an additional 10% discount on every purchase. This deal is one of many being offered to the people of Alton who have supported the dispensary through its tumultuous first year in business. The Alton Dispensary appreciates its customers, employees, and community, and will continue to offer great deals in an effort to liquidate its products in connection with its upcoming move.

As of now, The Alton Dispensary requests anyone who wants to come enjoy the many sales assist it in clearing its vault for its upcoming move. Once it is closed, it expects to take around six weeks to prepare the new location for business. It will not give up on providing the people of Alton with legal cannabis, nor is it finished with its missions of good will to the community that has supported it through hard times.

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