Biz Buzz: Marijuana, Roses and glass

The Roses store on State Road 200 is shown in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted July 28, 2021 | By Carlos Medina, carlos@ocalagazette.com

Plans for another marijuana dispensary are in the works after Ocala received an application for a construction permit to renovate a location on East Silver Springs Boulevard.

Green Dragon hopes to open a dispensary at 2645 E. Silver Springs Blvd. in the Hillsdale Center shopping plaza.

The proposed location would be next to The Fiery Chef and a few doors down from Big Lots. The same plaza is also home to the separately owned Heart of Florida Health Center.

Green Dragon operated 15 dispensaries in Colorado and is branching out into Florida with 10 locations set to open this year. Other planned locations include Tampa, Jacksonville, Titusville and Merritt Island, according to their website greendragon.com

The company is renovating a warehouse in Palatka to serve as its growing and processing facility, according to an April story in the Palatka Daily News.

Coming up Roses

Roses Discount Store is planning to take over another empty Winn-Dixie grocery store in Marion County.

Representatives of the company filed for a building permit with Ocala to renovate the former Winn-Dixie / Harveys Supermarket at 2640 NE 14^th St. in the Oakbrook Plaza.

In 2018, the fire store opened in a former Winn-Dixie store in Belleview. The retailer then took over the former Winn-Dixie at the Friendship Center at 8445 SW State Road 200. This is its first store in the city.

Roses is owned by Variety Wholesalers, which is based in Henderson, North Carolina. In addition to Roses, the company operates more than 300 stores under several names across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

The company operates more than 160 Roses stores which range between 30,000 and 70,000 square feet.

The stores feature a variety of merchandise, including apparel, housewares, furniture and furnishings, toys and seasonal items.

Growing Panes

More than $1.5 million in construction is planned for the Cardinal LG plant in Ocala.

The work will take place at the company’s nearly 385,000-square-foot facility at 4185 SW 13^th Street, according to construction permits filed with the city.

The work will cover about 19,000 square feet and includes the expansion of an existing mezzanine to serve as a fabrication area and the construction of a new mezzanine to serve as a production office, according to applications.

Cardinal, which first started operating in Ocala about 15 years ago, makes laminated glass and other specialty glass for use in windows.