Cresco Labs’ (CL.C) is hiring and training restaurant industry and hospitality service workers who have recently lost their jobs to fill 250 retail positions for its Sunnyside dispensaries throughout Illinois.
Cresco accompanied their recruitment drive with an essential pay program and addition support to current employees working their cultivation centres, distribution facilities and dispensaries.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the daily lives and disrupted the livelihoods of everyone in this country, with some communities, groups and individuals impacted more than others. As the states in which we operate have acknowledged cannabis as an essential industry, we understand Cresco’s responsibility to continue operations, to be stewards of this industry and to be leaders in our communities. Cresco has a culture that focuses on and prioritizes the needs of all stakeholders — we are committed to do our part to maximize our impact and help those most affected by these unfortunate circumstances,” said Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs’ chief executive officer.
The company is partnering with hospitality companies across the state to promote this opportunity to their employees affected by the pandemic. The essential pay program will provide a premium for front line salaried and hourly employees, and give supervisors and managers additional compensation for their continued leadership.
Cresco has also partnered with 90 local restaurants across eight states to delivery daily lunches to their retail and manufacturing staff. Cresco is picking up the tab and delivering more than 650 lunches to its workforce while doing what it can to keep dozens of local restaurants active during the pandemic.
“Many of the restaurants around our stores and facilities are locally owned, and we know their businesses are being devastated by the COVID-19 outbreak. As stewards of the communities we operate in, we saw an opportunity to support our neighbours and help combat the economic impact of the pandemic on their restaurants by placing daily orders — all while also taking care of our team members, the most important part of our organization. In an otherwise challenging environment, we will continue to pursue win-win-win scenarios like this,” said Bachtell.
Into the windy city
Earlier this month, Cresco recieved a license from the Illinois Department of Financial Regulation for a dispensary in the River North neighbourhood of Chicago. For right now, the River North location will begin adult-use cannabis sales on-line for pickup. It’s part of the procedure the company has implemented to eliminate wait lines, crowding and to follow social distancing dictates during the pandemic.
River North is a hospitality nexus for travellers, sporting hotels, restaurants, and nightlife options as well as residential buildings, offering retailers in the area consistent foot traffic day and night. The area touches the Loop and the Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue, which is Chicago’s premier commercial district and a destination point for Chicago’s 58 million visitors annually.
The dispensary will operate with on-line orders only through the Sunnyside website. When customers get a notification that their orders is ready for pickup, they can visit the store at staggered times to pick up their order.
—Joseph Morton
