Anoka Opens Minnesota’s First Government-Run Cannabis Dispensary, Redefining the State’s Legal Market

ANOKA, MN

On Wednesday afternoon, residents filed through a freshly built storefront along East River Road, stepping into a space that represents a first not only for Anoka, but for Minnesota.

From 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Anoka Cannabis Company opened its doors for a community open house, offering guided tours of what is now the state’s first city owned and operated cannabis dispensary. No products were sold. No transactions processed. Instead, the event served as a civic unveiling, a chance for the public to see how a local government has chosen to step directly into a newly legalized market.

Located at 839 East River Road, adjacent to Anoka’s Better Values municipal liquor store, the dispensary is scheduled to begin retail sales on Friday, February 6, marking a pivotal moment in Minnesota’s rollout of adult use cannabis.

A Municipal First, Rooted in Local History

Government run cannabis retail remains rare in the United States. In Minnesota, it is explicitly legal.

Under state statute, cities and counties may establish, own, and operate cannabis retail stores, subject to statewide regulation and population based licensing requirements. The City of Anoka is the first municipality to translate that authority into a fully operational storefront.

City leaders point to precedent. Anoka has operated municipal liquor stores for nearly 89 years, a model that has long funneled revenue back into public services rather than private ownership. The cannabis venture follows the same logic, applying a familiar public enterprise framework to a newly legal industry.

“This is not an experiment pulled out of thin air,” city officials have said publicly. “It is an extension of how Anoka has chosen to manage regulated substances for generations.”

Inside the Facility

The dispensary itself is a newly constructed 3,000 square foot building designed from the ground up for security, compliance, and efficiency.

The city invested approximately $2.7 million into the project, a figure that reflects both construction and specialized infrastructure. Among the features highlighted during the open house:

• A secure sally port allowing armored vehicle deliveries to take place within a fully enclosed area
• More than 35 security cameras monitoring the interior and exterior of the property
• Solar panels installed on the roof, projected to generate roughly 88 percent of the building’s electricity needs

The building’s proximity to the Better Values liquor store was intentional, consolidating regulated retail operations in a single corridor and leveraging existing municipal oversight experience.

A Phased Opening by Design

City officials have structured the launch carefully, anticipating high demand and heightened scrutiny.

The rollout schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, February 4: Community open house. Tours only, no sales
• Thursday, February 5: Official ribbon cutting ceremony at 2 p.m.
• Friday, February 6: Retail sales begin at 10 a.m., by appointment only
• February 6 to 8: Appointment based purchasing via the dispensary’s website
• Monday, February 9: Walk in service is scheduled to begin

The appointment only phase is intended to manage crowd flow, ensure regulatory compliance, and allow staff to settle into operations before full scale retail begins.

Where the Money Goes

The most consequential difference between Anoka’s store and a private dispensary is not the layout or the security cameras. It is the destination of the profits.

Under the municipal model, 100 percent of net profits from the Anoka Cannabis Company return directly to the city. Officials have identified several potential uses for those funds, including:

• Investments in city parks and the Green Haven Golf Course
• Reducing pressure on the local property tax levy
• Funding general city infrastructure and capital projects

In a market where cannabis revenues often flow to private investors or out of state ownership groups, Anoka’s approach keeps proceeds local by design.

Not a Monopoly, but a Head Start

State law prevents cities of Anoka’s size, roughly 18,000 residents, from monopolizing cannabis retail entirely. The city must still allow at least two private retail licenses within its borders.

Those private operators, however, are still navigating the state’s licensing pipeline. Anoka’s municipal store is the first to cross the finish line, positioning the city as an early mover in a market that remains largely theoretical elsewhere.

A Test Case for Minnesota

As tours concluded Wednesday evening, the broader implications were hard to miss. Anoka is not merely opening a dispensary. It is testing a policy choice.

Can a city operate a cannabis store with the same transparency and accountability expected of public institutions? Can regulated substances generate public revenue without undermining public trust? And will residents accept a model where cannabis, like alcohol in Anoka, is treated as a civic utility rather than a private gold rush?

Those questions will be answered not in today’s open house, but in the weeks and months that follow, as sales begin, balance sheets take shape, and the rest of Minnesota watches closely.

For now, one thing is certain. When the doors open for purchases on Friday morning, Minnesota’s legal cannabis era will enter a new phase, one run not by private entrepreneurs, but by a city betting on itself.

MinneapoliMedia