Market 96 staff members talk with a customer at the South Loop dispensary. The company’s new store at 529 S. Wells St. follows the opening of its Oswego site in 2023. Market 96 also plans to open shops in Belleville and Cairo, Ill. (Provided photos)

As a businessman, Fred Spencer has had his eye on the cannabis industry for a while.

“I always saw the industry from afar, and I tried to get involved,” said the Chicago finance professional and entrepreneur. “I started talking with a few friends in the industry and we put a team together.”

That Market 96 team just opened its second Illinois location and has plans for four other dispensaries in the state.

The South Loop location at 529 S. Wells St. follows the company’s 2023 launch of an Oswego dispensary.

Market 96 plans to open dispensaries in Belleville and Cairo in 2025 and add shops at two thus-far-undisclosed locations after that.

Spencer, chief executive officer of Market 96, said his team invites its neighbors and guests to

Fred Spencer

explore and enjoy a personalized experience, guiding them through every step of the process, answering questions and ensuring they find the products to meet their needs and desires. The dispensary encourages its neighbors to learn more about products firsthand by examining the packaging, reading the labels and feeling the design, a distinction from many dispensaries, Spencer said.

“Market 96 is more than just a dispensary and we are looking forward to welcoming Chicagoans into the space,” Spencer said of Market 96’s Chicago location. “We’re overjoyed to become a part of the South Loop community.

“Our goal is to create a place where guests can explore high-quality cannabis products and genuinely feel a sense of belonging while uplifting and providing opportunities to those underrepresented in the cannabis industry.”

The business’ name stems from the legalization of marijuana in California in 1996.

Spencer is excited about the Chicago site’s location in the Cacciatore building at Ida B. Wells Drive and Wells Street.

“There is a lot of traffic flow. We are in close proximity to the lake and Grant Park. We are across from the Board of Trade and near the Metra station,” he said. “There are a lot of individuals present. There are residential buildings in the area.”

He noted that a benefit of the location is that there is parking on both the north and south sides of the building.

Spencer said he was not surprised to see marijuana sales flourish after the state legalized the recreational drug.

“Illinois put a program in place. The market was prime,” Spencer said. “People have been using cannabis for years. The stigma is fading. I think people are cannabis curious.”

Cutting boards at the South Loop dispensary

The Chicago Market 96 location, which is under the Blounts & Moore company umbrella, features a Chicago ambiance, paying homage to “old Chicago” businesses with its black and white mosaic floors and subway-tiled walls. It is in the building that displays the iconic mural “Native American Lost in Chicago… Dreamin’…” by Ella & Pitr.

Spencer said his dispensaries will all have a commitment to supporting the arts.

The winning design from Market 96’s “Neighborhood Artist T-Shirt Design Contest” are available for purchase at the company’s Chicago and Oswego dispensaries. A portion of the proceeds from the T-shirt sales will be donated to a Chicago non-profit arts organization.

“We focus on the art scene,’ Spencer said. “We will feature local artists.”

He noted a mural at the Oswego shop and art in the South Loop location attest to that.

Spencer said his locations will make sure to include smaller vendors as well.

“We want to give everyone an equal opportunity,” he said. “With all our merchandise, we want to very

A Market 96 budtender talks with customers about product offerings.

supportive of smaller vendors. We want to build relations for non-cannabis products too.”

Spencer said the company’s initial launch in Oswego is “going well.”

“We have a good clientele,” he said. “We are off to a good start. There is a ton of housing construction going on. That should be great for our business.”

He said that Oswego residents and Village Board members welcomed the business.

“There was not any pushback at all,” Spencer said of setting up his Kendall County dispensary.

Even though Oswego has gone well, Spencer thinks that dispensaries are still fighting some negative connotations.

“I think the neighborhood perceptions are that dispensaries are places that have individuals hanging out, just hanging around,” he said.

Many Market 96 customers are only in the store for short time.

“A high majority of our clients know exactly what they want,” Spencer said. “They are well-versed in cannabis, but we do have some people who come in looking for help. Budtenders will put a lot of effort into it for them.”

He said Market 96 budtenders go through an extensive amount of training.

“We want customers to come in and for it to be a great experience for that customer,” Spencer said.

He said his stores’ budtenders bring a ton of experience to the table.

“Our budtenders will dive deep in for you. They will find out what ailment you are seeking relief from, what benefits you are seeking,” Spencer said. “They will talk with you about cannabis and what they recommend for you.

The entrance to the South Loop dispensary

Spencer has bounced back and forth between Chicago and Minnesota – growing up on the South Side but finishing high school in Minnesota. He went to DePaul University for his bachelor’s degree, but the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business for his master’s degree in finance and strategy. He started his first business in Minnesota but returned to Chicago for other posts.

“It’s home for me,” Spencer said of Chicago. “I want to raise our kids here. I think it’s a good place to grow up.”

Spencer joined the Blounts and Moore team after leading companies and teams in finance, real estate, and brand marketing. Prior to assuming the helm of Market 96, he joined the Executive Management Committee and immersed himself in learning all aspects of the Illinois cannabis industry. As CFO/COO, he worked closely with the inaugural CEO to add cannabis business knowledge to his business foundation.

He co-founded Ayo Foods, a branded frozen meals start-up featured in national retail outlets, including Whole Foods, Costco, Sprouts, Walmart, and Kroger.

Ayo started with 50 stores in the Whole Foods chain in 2020 and grew to distribution of more than 5,600 stores in two years.

A resident of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, Spencer is also an experienced Chicago residential and commercial real estate developer.

In the finance arena, he has performed in analyst and senior management roles for LaSalle Bank, BestBuy, and Sleep Number.

“I still use a ton of my finance background and I acquired a bit of retail knowledge from my time with BestBuy,” Spencer said. “When I was going into the cannabis industry, I went and got product knowledge for 1 ½ years, learning the brands. Plus, I am still using retail knowledge. We are a retail establishment.”

Market 96’s Chicago location is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. The Oswego location is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For information on Market 96, visit www.market-96.com.  

kbeese@chronicleilllinois.com