Retail cannabis is coming to Fresno. Will there be a shop in your part of town?

Fresno is making moves to legitimize legal weed in 2021.

The city is in the second phase of its process to license the manufacture and sale of cannabis in Fresno, and is expected to begin interviews with potential businesses in March.

While the earliest opening date for retailers is at least six months away, a look at the application data gives an idea of where these stores may end up.

Seventy-five applicants made it to Phase II and are competing for 14 available retail licenses: two in each of the city’s seven districts.

Another 22 businesses applied under Fresno’s equity clause, which sets aside at least two (and as many as four) licenses for owners with previous cannabis convictions, former foster youth and veterans or those coming from low-income communities.

There were applications submitted for all seven council districts.

District 3, which includes west Fresno, downtown and parts of the Tower District, will see the most competition for licenses. There were 23 applications submitted with address within the district boundaries.

Northeast Fresno’s District 6 had the fewest applications.

Just five business applied to sell cannabis within the district, which is represented on the city council by Garry Bredefeld.

Blackstone corridor and the Brewery District

Cannabis retailers aren’t allowed with 800 feet of so-called “sensitive” locations — schools, day care/youth centers or other cannabis shops.

This puts them mostly in commercial areas.

Not surprisingly, many of the applications propose retail sites along the Blackstone corridor, with a cluster of 10 (out of the 11 applications in District 4) at Shaw and Blackstone avenues. Three are in the shopping center that houses DXL Mens Apparel.

Also along Blackstone: Family Tree Thrift is leaving its location at Blackstone and Gettysburg and could become a retail cannabis shop. An application was submitted at that address.

Hemp Valley LLC applied for a license at 4561 N. Blackstone Ave., which many people know as the store U-neek Boo-Teek.

Downtown’s Brewery District could see retail cannabis intermixed with its bars and breweries. Two applicants have addresses listed within blocks of Tioga-Sequoia Brewery’s beer garden.

Stease Co. would open across Fulton Street on the same block as the Sun Stereo warehouse, which is being renovated by local developer Reza Assemi. The company already has website running for its apparel brand, which also appears to be opening a store on the block.

Catalyst Downtown Fresno applied to open at 721 Broadway, just south of Chukchansi Park and across from the downtown Pep Boys location that closed in 2020.

Across town, Catalyst Highway 99 applied for a location at Weber and Clinton avenues in what was once Los Compadres nightclub.

New tenants for vacant buildings

Several applicants have leased or will lease long-vacant buildings in Chinatown and the Tower District.

This includes the cannabis chain Lemonnade, which is looking to open inside the Bank of America building off of Wishon avenue; and the Artist Tree, a Los Angeles-based art gallery/dispensary looking to take over the old Audie’s Olympic/Club Fred space on Van Ness Avenue.

Also on the list of potential retail locations is the Chicken Pie Shop (vacant since 2019) and 851 E. Fern Ave., which is on the same block as Livingstone’s restaurant and Strummer’s nightclub.

In Chinatown, two businesses applied for licenses on the same stretch of Kern between F and G Streets.

The Green Dragon Collective is looking to open at 1426 Kern, in the building connected to Dick’s Menswear.

A business called Komoto’s applied for a license at 1536 Kern St., a building that is on the Local Register of Historic Resources and once housed Komoto’s Department Store.

Businesses still being evaluated

Currently, the city is notifying all property owners within 1,000 feet of the proposed cannabis sites and reviewing and scoring the evaluation criteria on each application, said Jennifer Ruiz, who oversees the city’s Office of Cannabis Oversight.

That includes the business plan, neighborhood compatibility, safety and security plans.

The top applicants will move to the third phase, which includes a second ranking and interviews with the city’s cannabis review panel. There is no mandate on the number of applicants that can move on to Phase III, Ruiz said.

The city manager will make a final review and award licenses sometime in late April.