32nd location for Off the Charts in the former Rexall drugstore in historic downtown

By Allen D. Payton

The first and only cannabis retail store in allowed in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown celebrated its Grand Opening on Saturday, Feb. 1st. Owner Norman Yousif, who was there to greet guests and city officials said it’s the 32nd location of his Off the Charts chain, all in California. Mayor Ron Bernal, Mayor Pro Tem Louie Rocha and District 3 Councilman Don Freitas attended the event and participated in the ribbon cutting.

After the Antioch City Council made some exceptions to the city’s cannabis business rules a few years ago, allowing one cannabis retail store in the city’s historic downtown, by waiving the requirements it not be closer than 600 feet from a school, park or church, and amid concerns from Rivertown business owners, downtown building owner Sean McCauley went into action. Wanting to ensure the store would be quality and not negatively impact the other businesses, he decided to control the situation and locate it in one of his buildings.

Yousif said he and his wife, Darline, who was unable to attend the event, started their chain in San Diego where they live.

“I was trying to license in northern California for a takeover of the market,” he stated.

Asked why Antioch, Yousif said, “I heard good things about Antioch. I heard Sean was the landlord and he helped with the buildout.”

“Sean’s the man,” he added.

The new location on the corner of West 3rd and G Streets started with a soft opening about a month-and-a-half ago, Yousif shared. Freitas pointed out the interesting fact that it happens to be in “the former site of the old Rexall drugstore.” In fact, that company’s Rx logo still adorns the entrance.

Before the ribbon cutting Yousif shared his appreciation to the community.

“I thank everyone for coming out, here, man. This couldn’t happen without many of you guys, here,” he said “Antioch is now like my second home, now. I live in Southern California. Sean made this happen. You guys are family, now and having you see the OTC store, it’s your home. Thank you, guys for everything, Sean, Ron for adopting us. So, thank you to the City of Antioch.”

With scissors in his hand preparing to cut the ribbon, Bernal said, “The downtown is up and coming. This is a big part of it. Sean McCauley, here, continues to invest in these properties and we’re making some real positive moves and we’re real excited about the future.”

“The SMI team and I are extremely excited to see this quality business in Rivertown,” McCauley stated. “Although cannabis has been controversial, we’re hoping the community will visit the store and understand it’s more than just recreational cannabis.”

“Many of the customers are seniors in their 60’s and 70’s, buying products for pain relief,” he added.

Deb Blaisure and Toni Lincks, owners of Rivertown Treasure Chest a few doors down, helped organize and work the event.

“I had all of our vendors share the information promoting their grand opening and we sent a news blast to our 400 customers,” Blaisure stated. “Plus, (local entertainer) Les Edwins’ list.”

“We also promoted them at our Mix & Mingle with their Regional Manager, Marissa making an announcement,” she continued. “She asked us to work the event, and we said, ‘Yes’.”

“It’s one big happy family on our block,” Blaisure added.

To the dismay of some in attendance, there were no free samples given out. However, there was food trucks parked outside and bags of candy from Rivertown’s Feral Unicorn Snack Emporium available for guests – who might have had the munchies.

the attachments to this post:

Delta Rx sign OTC entrance Sean Norman Ron & Jamie 2-1-25

Ron Bernal cuts ribbon with owner 2-1-25

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 5th, 2025 at 4:54 pm and is filed under Business, Cannabis, News, Rivertown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.