A new cannabis dispensary just opened north of the Twin Cities metro and the city’s mayor is one of the owners.

Mayor Blake Roberts’ family horticulture business has been part of the Forest Lake, Minnesota, community for generations.

“My grandparents started it back in 1930,” Blake Roberts said.

Over 96 years and three generations, they’ve had to adapt.

“In 1997, we opened up Big Apple Bagel and coffee shop and in 2005, we opened Roberts Family Funeral Home,” Blake Roberts said.

Adapting again, brothers Blake and Kelly Roberts opened a cannabis shop.

“You have to be relative and continue to move forward and pivot,” Blake Roberts said. “At first, it was scary, just the perception of what people thought.

Josh Prestegaard is the general manager of The Greenhouse Cannabis Company.

“I honestly believed cannabis saved my life,” Prestegaard said.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three years ago.

“I felt like I was poisoning my body enough with chemo and radiation that I wanted to find a more natural thing that would help me get up and participate more in my kids’ and my family’s life,” Prestegaard said.

He discovered cannabis gave him hope.

“From fighting for my life to now living again. I’m thankful to this community,” Prestegaard said.

He says he’s thankful to the Roberts family. Several other customers agreed.

“I think this is really going to help people here in Forest Lake. I’ve just been so excited,” customer Tess Cody said.

The brothers hope to start growing their own product soon.

Blake Roberts abstains from all votes and council decisions regarding the new business.