One-of-a-kind Rockford area business serves cannabis-infused food and drinks
THC, CBD, delta 9, delta 8. If that all sounds like another language, that's okay.
The folks at The Hemp Center of Northern Illinois are more than willing to educate and introduce you to a bevvy of cannabis-infused products on the shelves and behind the bar at their recently opened Canna Cafe.
The cafe, located inside The Hemp Center at 6830 Spring Creek Road, is a stylish, upscale soup and sandwich shop distinguished by a 29-foot-long neon lit bar from which a little something extra is offered. Drinks are infused with cannabis.
"We want to educate people and also have them come in and be able to enjoy food, drinks, and be a place where you can stay," co-owner Lola Renner said.
"When you go to the dispensary, you are in and out real quick. We want you to get to know us. Hang out, relax, and get an education about this stuff — why it works, how it works."
More: Former Loves Park hemp store relocates to Rockford, adds cafe
Renner, former owner of the now defunct Josef Barbados, steak, seafood and oyster bar, and her business partner, Taylor Seitz, both have backgrounds in the cannabis industry having both worked at a Sunnyside dispensary. They also each bring something different to their joint business venture.
"I have a background in horticulture, and she has a pharmaceutical background," Seitz said. "So we kind of put everything together and with her love of culinary foods especially in the aspect of her past of where she has worked and stuff like that we have a great and amazing atmosphere."
The cafe, a year in the making, opened on 4/20 day offering soups, sandwiches and salads and non alcoholic drinks that can be infused with CBD or delta nine or delta eight THC.
The drink menu includes coffee, espresso, cappuccino; bong water and teas; and mocktails such as Blackberry Kush, Strawberry Mota-Jito, Mota-Rita, and Pineapple Express; as well as soft drinks and bottled water.
Food offerings include salads; Italian, ham, turkey, and roast beef sandwiches as well as vegan option.
Renner and Seitz also have teamed up with Mrs. Buckbee's Wake & Bakery.
"They're similar to what we do, but they're kind of a baked goods and we're more like a lounge, soup and sandwich," Renner said. "So we decided, 'Hey, why not put their products on our shelf and support local and then they support us back.'"
The Hemp Center, which opened late summer, is not a dispensary. Instead, the store carries an array of CBD products meant to help alleviate pain, boost the immune system and enhance people's mood.
Renner said she and her staff want to educate customers about the health benefits of using and consuming CBD or cannabidiol, an active ingredient in cannabis that is derived from the hemp plant but does not cause a high and is not addictive.
Beth and Joel Helms of Rockford were on hand for the grand opening in support of Renner and Seitz.
"Lola is one of my dearest friends," Beth Helms said. "We've watched this from the ground up, and it's absolutely stunning. She will be a force in this market."
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: The Hemp Center in Rockford has been infused with the Canna Cafe
