Well known Niles restaurant may soon become a ‘Happy Daze Cannabis’ shop
NILES, Mich. (WNDU) - A well known and successful restaurant just over the Indiana line in Niles is planning to move because the owner has a business opportunity to cash in on the marijuana industry.
In a social media post Jay’s Lounge owner Silvio Martino announced plans to relocate the Niles business on M-51 a couple miles south to a spot inside the Clover Hotel in South Bend, Ind. In the post below he said the move had nothing to do with staffing or current business issues.
“I wanted to make sure my employees still had jobs and my loyal customers could still come and enjoy what we offer,” Martino told WNDU.com. “This was a business opportunity and we plan to keep our business going.”
The move has everything to do with the marijuana business in Michigan and the recent decision by Niles Township to allow an unlimited number of marijuana retail businesses. Niles is just over the state line from Indiana and is considered a prime location for marijuana businesses that are legal in Michigan, but not in Indiana.
“I’m less than a quarter mile from the state line, so obviously very close, and people wanting to buy my place, there was a lot,” Martino said.
Martino says he received about 30 offers in all, including some good enough to retire on.
He told WNDU.com that he is negotiating with Happy Daze Cannabis on the sale of his current location. Happy Daze Cannabis has other locations in Michigan and across the country.
When the Martino family took over Jay’s from the Griffee family some 36 years ago, a promise was apparently made to keep the tradition of the independent local business alive. It’s a promise Martino considers kept.
“You know, I’m a firm believer that yes, this place is special, but I believe the people in it make it special,” Martino said. “I mean, it’s the staff, it’s the customers, that’s what makes it special. So, if you can keep those same people, I’m hoping four walls doesn’t make that big of a difference.”
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