Viola is a cannabis retailer focused on curating a unique wellness experience for medicinal patients and adult consumers. Co-founders Dan Pettigrew and Al Harrington, Hyde Park natives on the southside of Chicago, recently opened their new Chicago location.
On the heels of their recent store
openings in St. Louis, Viola CHI is focused on providing premium cannabis products as well as jobs and training for underrepresented communities in the cannabis space. They are leading the charge to bring diversity and inclusion to the Chicago area cannabis marketplace.
Harrington and Pettigrew have been operating in legal cannabis markets since 2008 and they have deep experience operating large-scale cannabis operations in 6 other states including Michigan, Colorado, California, and Missouri. Viola, named after Harrington’s grandmother, is committed to growing, manufacturing, and selling premium quality [cannabis] flower, including pre-rolled
‘joints’, vapes, and edibles while fulfilling their responsibility to bring opportunities for minorities at every level.
I recently met up with Dan Pettigrew and his partners at a private dinner in Chicago to learn more about he got started, how Viola is thriving, and his vision within the cannabis industry down the road.
DC: Describe your experience with cannabis prior to it becoming legal and the moments that led you to start a cannabis company.
DP: Due to my previous personal experience with cannabis, I understood the value of the business opportunity.
DC: You grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago, share how your experience growing up in that community helped to shape what kind of company you want Viola to be.
DP: Growing up on the Southside, Hyde Park is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country with a blue-collar work ethic, those core values are what has shaped the work ethic of this company.