For married duo Carrie and Jesse Worsk, their new business Black Bear Dispensary in Winona is a long-awaited dream come true.
“This is our version of the American dream,” Carrie said. “Owning your own business and having it be in this industry is absolutely something that we have dreamed of. And being able to support our family and support others and their families through being a part of our team as well is so meaningful.”
A long road led them to where they stand now though as they prepare to open the dispensary’s doors at 104 East Fourth St. for the first time April 13.
Carrie first explored cannabis to help her with chronic migraines after disliking effects she experienced with prescription medications. The plant led her to some relief.
Jesse saw the flower’s benefits for his mother as she battled breast cancer.
Carrie wishes it had been legalized in her home state in time for her father, who died from lung cancer when she was 16, to use it.
“Being in Pennsylvania at that time, when he was going through that, I wish that there had been a medical marijuana program earlier to be able to help him through that,” she said.
Now, Carrie’s work in the cannabis industry is a way she honors her father.
“Just knowing that I’m helping people to feel good and live a better quality of life through cannabis is definitely something I do in honor of him,” she said.
She’s been in the industry since 2012, while Jesse has worked with cannabis since 2017 after seeing the positive impact it had on his mother.
The duo met through their cannabis-related careers and started Black Bear in Pennsylvania in 2021 with the goal of opening dispensaries in smaller communities.
The business now has three corporate-owned stores and two franchise stores in Pennsylvania.
Selling hemp wasn’t necessarily the couple’s long-term end goal.
“Being able to have an adult use dispensary and then one day a medical dispensary has always been the aspirations of Carrie and I,” Jesse said.
“We’ve been training for this is kind of, like a good way to put it,” Carrie said. “This is where we knew we wanted to go, and every step of the way that we’ve taken so far with our previous jobs and with our previous endeavors has kind of just been helping us to prepare for this. So we’re really excited to finally see it come to fruition.”
That goal led them to Minnesota when the recreational industry began to open in the state.
The couple received a Minnesota license that allows them to open five dispensaries. The Winona location is their flagship Minnesota store and they plan to open the others within drivable distance in similar sized communities.
Jesse said the couple liked Winona and had positive experiences with the local government.
“We’re from a small river town in Pennsylvania, so there’s a lot of things about Winona that remind us of home, but on a larger scale,” Carrie said. “We’ve been here for about a month now, and everyone that we’ve met has just been really supportive.”
The business hopes to connect with the community outside of the store too, as they said employees each month have paid hours to volunteer.
“We’re looking forward to being able to volunteer in the community,” Carrie said.
The couple plans to offer high-quality, curated products for sale.
“We’ll continue to curate a continuously more available selection of products for them,” Jesse said. “We really do try to stay as active as we can, searching for new product and make sure that we have the best selection that’s available for our folks.”
They are open to getting products from cultivators throughout the state.
In the future, they also plan to get some of their products from inside the same building that houses the dispensary, as Robert Fazzolare prepares to open his cultivation business there.
Jesse said the couple wants to make people comfortable when they visit the dispensary, so they are willing to discuss what they want from products and then staff can set them up with what fits their needs and wants best.
Two of the store’s employees already have experience and are ready to help customers get the right product that fits their needs, as they came with the business from Pennsylvania to help with the store.
In the future, the couple hopes to add deli-style flower sales and to get a medical certification for the dispensary.
