Why Local Cannabis Shopping Matters

A point of pride for IndiGrow is that we’re the only locally-owned cannabis business and the only microbusiness in downtown Muskegon. So if you’re new to the idea of a cannabis microbusiness, let us explain.

Everything in our store is grown, processed and sold from our facility at 639 W. Clay Avenue. We’re located in a 100-year-old renovated building home to our 150-plant grow, our drying and trimming area, a processing lab where we make edibles, vape carts, concentrates, and our sales floor. Other than for lab testing, nothing leaves our building until you take it home.

When it comes to local—we’re hyperlocal.

When you purchase a cannabis product at IndiGrow, it’s as local as it gets, and that matters to us, to you, and the community. So let’s look at some of the reasons for shopping locally.

Local Decisions

No one from Illinois, California, or Colorado decides what happens at IndiGrow. Our owners, Karen and Steven Kekelik and Dr. Paul Lomeo, are the faces of the company, and you’ll find us working in the store almost every day.

Isn’t seeing and interacting with business owners one of the best things about shopping locally? It’s cool to visit the Cheese Lady and talk with Shelley, stop for a beer at Pigeon Hill and say hey to Alana or Michael, or talk all things art with Louise over at Art Cats.

Muskegon has many great businesses, and we’re pleased to be part of the local movement.

Karen Kekelik, left, pictured with Mayor of Muskegon, Ken Johnson, middle, and Steven Kekelik, right.

Keeping Money Local

When you shop locally for cannabis, more of your money stays in Muskegon. As much as possible, we work with local vendors, and more than 85 percent of the operations money we spend is spent locally. Did you know that for every $100 YOU spend at a locally-owned business, $68 stays in the community? When you shop at a chain cannabis dispo, around $43 stays in the community, if that.

Muskegon Lighthouse

Local is Environmentally Better

Shopping close to home at locally-owned businesses has less of a negative impact on the environment. If you buy our flower, it’s grown on-site where you shop, not shipped in from across the state. IndiGrow is like a farmer’s market for fresh cannabis!

All product is packaged in house.

Local Expertise

Everyone at IndiGrow is trained throughout the enterprise. Our budtenders learn the business by working in all aspects of the company; they know our cultivation processes, and they’ve trimmed bud; and they know how we make our concentrates and edibles. This inside-out training gives our staff the knowledge of cannabis that is seldom found in most dispos.

Budtenders taking a training course by Derek Oldham

Local Businesses are Destinations

There’s something about visiting a new place and finding a hometown treasure—that off-the-beaten-path place where the locals go. We’re creating a destination experience at IndiGrow with our local cannabis and facility tours. We offer hour-long tours to small groups, which allow you to peek behind the cannabis curtain and see how we grow and process our flower, and if you want, you can enjoy our products in our adjacent outdoor space—The Bowl.

The view from Flower Room 1.

Local Jobs

The people working at IndiGrow are from around the greater Muskegon; we’ve created more than 15 jobs since opening in November 2022. We pay a living wage, offer benefits, and don’t require cannabis experience to be eligible for hire.

IndiGrow employees walk down a hallway in the Back of House.

Community Benefit

Studies reveal that local businesses support community causes at more than twice the level of chain shops. We’re excited about some upcoming activities that we’re supporting, including the Michigan Irish Music Festival and an Expungement Fair in September.

A tour group smiles between the buds of Pakistani Chitral Kush.

You Matter to Us!

Muskegonites are accustomed to shopping in chain cannabis dispos, and we’re working to create a different experience, one that’s more customer-centric, relaxed and transparent. For example, we post QR codes with our lab results so you can see how clean our small-batch cannabis tests. You can also check out the data about our flower, like its terpenes and THC percentages. We do this because we want you to be a smart cannabis consumer and feel confident when you shop with us.

IndiGrow in the morning sunrise in Downtown Muskegon.

Community Identity

Local businesses are unique, and their design reflects the identity and style of the owners. From our Jimmy Cobb mural on the sales floor to our comfy and calm waiting area and community space, we’ve set out to make IndiGrow different than any other cannabis store in Michigan.