Youngstown business gets one of 12 marijuana-growing licenses in Ohio

YOUNGSTOWN

A Youngstown location will be among 12 large-growing sites in Ohio to cultivate medical marijuana starting next September.

Riviera Creek Holding LLC of Youngstown, operated by Brian Kessler and his nephew, Daniel Kessler, was awarded a Level 1 license Thursday by the Ohio Department of Commerce for up to 25,000 square feet of growing space.

“The first order of business is getting quotes to put the security in place, do construction to make it easier to produce the products and move equipment into the location,” said Daniel Kessler, the company’s chief operations officer. “Our plan is to start as quickly as possible. We have to harvest by September. The process has to start before that.”

The company will operate out of 1275 Crescent St. – which it owns and used to house Maui Toys Inc., Kessler said. It’s been vacant since earlier this year, he said.

The company plans an investment of $10 million to $15 million over three years with 181 to 319 jobs by 2022 including 71 employees in its first year, he said.

Read more about the new business in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.