The Dixon City Council has approved significant updates to its local municipal ordinances, clearing the path for the community's sole cannabis retailer to introduce drive-thru customer service and take advantage of expanded operational hours. The council’s formal vote aligns Dixon's local business regulations with recently modified state legislation that governs the retail distribution of adult-use cannabis across Illinois.
This municipal decision directly responds to the passage of Senate Bill 3222, which was signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker on June 12. The state-level statutory amendments instituted several sweeping changes to Illinois cannabis laws, granting retail operators greater flexibility in their sales models while allowing local municipalities the authority to govern how those changes are implemented within their jurisdictions.
The primary beneficiary of the newly updated municipal ordinance is Terrabis, the single licensed dispensary operating within Dixon city limits. Situated at 1679 S. Galena Ave., Terrabis originally opened its doors in December 2024 as part of the Gateway Project, a high-profile commercial and economic development corridor strategically located along South Galena Avenue near Interstate 88.
Under the revised city code, Terrabis and future dispensaries are legally authorized to serve adult-use cannabis consumers through a specialized drive-up pick-up window. The new ordinance also introduces specific operational timeframes for drive-thru transactions, authorizing sales at the window from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., while simultaneously extending permitted in-store retail sales by an hour, allowing physical doors to stay open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Although the updated Illinois state framework gives dispensaries the legal latitude to conduct retail operations as late as 2 a.m., businesses cannot utilize those maximum hours without obtaining explicit consent from the municipality in which they reside. According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), local governing bodies retain the power to set tighter restrictions, which Dixon did when finalizing its 1 a.m. drive-thru and 10 p.m. indoor limits.
Terrabis currently conducts business under a more restricted operating schedule than what the new municipal rules now accommodate. The Galena Avenue store is currently open to patrons from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, meaning the new local ordinance creates substantial room for future expansion of both morning and late-night customer traffic.
Although the Dixon City Council has lifted the local regulatory barriers, the construction of the dispensary's drive-thru infrastructure remains in its earliest development stages. Dixon Building Official Tim Shipman revealed that he has been communicating with a Terrabis company representative regarding the establishment's intentions, though detailed project scheduling has not yet been formalized.
Shipman noted that municipal administrators and dispensary leadership have held preliminary conversations concerning the drive-thru plans, but he emphasized that Terrabis has not yet submitted a formal building permit application. A completed permit and administrative review are mandatory before any physical modification or construction work can legally begin on the site.
Shipman indicated that the company appeared to anticipate future legislative evolution when it originally developed its facility at the Gateway development. He noted his belief that Terrabis designed its initial architectural layout with future drive-thru capabilities in mind, creating a property floor plan that will smoothly accommodate a drive-up window without requiring an extensive structural overhaul.
Local building permits represent only one portion of the administrative hurdle Terrabis must clear before opening a drive-thru. Under state administrative rules, dispensaries must secure formal approval from the IDFPR, which mandates a comprehensive review of the retailer's physical floor layout, surveillance and security safeguards, and standard operating protocols specifically tied to drive-thru operations.
Terrabis is currently pursuing this multi-step regulatory and construction process across multiple properties in its retail network. According to Shipman and company information, Terrabis operates additional dispensaries throughout Illinois—including storefronts in Grayville, Plainfield, Mundelein, and Woodstock—alongside four active retail locations in the state of Missouri.
Alongside its drive-thru aspirations, Terrabis is also actively taking steps to secure a medical cannabis dispensary license from state regulators. Shipman clarified that while Terrabis must work directly with state officials to achieve this status, obtaining a medical dispensing credential will not require any further revisions to Dixon's local municipal code.
Under the June 12 statutory revisions enacted by Senate Bill 3222, any existing adult-use dispensary with an active license in good standing is eligible to opt into medical cannabis sales, subject to final IDFPR approval. This certification empowers the dispensary to serve registered medical patients at the lower medical tax rate up to each patient's legally established product allotment.
State law strictly dictates that dispensaries expanding into the medical realm cannot bifurcate their dual operations. Under IDFPR rules, operators are prohibited from separating their adult-use licenses from their medical licenses, whether through distinct physical structures within the facility or via divided corporate ownership arrangements. As state and local reviews proceed, Terrabis stands poised to become a dual-service hub for both medical patients and recreational consumers in the Dixon region.
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