Shangri-La became the seventh cannabis dispensary in the Springfield area when it opened in July. Despite being a latecomer to this market, it was recognized as the best by Illinois Times readers and one of its budtenders was also voted the best.
The parent company launched in 2019 as a family-founded chain of dispensaries with locations throughout Missouri, Ohio and Connecticut, with Springfield the singular location in Illinois. Originally offering holistic medical-marijuana consulting, the company's founders have medical and business backgrounds and have carried their experience and values into designing the business model.
Shangri-La dispensaries provide medical marijuana and recreational cannabis products, including multiple strains of flowers, pre-rolled joints, edibles, vapes, various types of concentrates, infused lotions and THC and CBD tinctures, with in-store and online shopping options. The mission of Shangri-La is to maintain a judgment-free environment that facilitates safe cannabis consumption and corrects misinformation through providing educational resources about all aspects and types of cannabis use.
The business offers consumption-tracking resources and staffs its facilities with health care workers and educated budtenders.
Christian Velasquez is one such budtender at the Springfield location of Shangri-La, and has earned glowing online reviews from happy customers. Google reviewers Tim Walters and Lyndell Day said Velasquez "went above and beyond and (was) so friendly" and that he "did an excellent job" in providing them service.
