LEXINGTON, Ky. — Eight months after replacing a popular hamburger restaurant, the Speakeasy Dispensary said it is helping Kentuckians.

Kentucky’s newest medical marijuana dispensary — the state’s second — is now open.

A new routine for thousands is taking root in central Kentucky as the Speakeasy Dispensary prepares for its grand debut as Lexington’s newest medical marijuana business.

With an equine- and bourbon-themed lounge in the front, the back of the store mirrors a speakeasy, featuring products behind a secure wall.

“A mile away from the 75 exit. So, from anyone coming from eastern kentucky, southern or northern kentucky, it’s easy access. and then another thing that it does is it actually interconnects us to the other side of Lexington as well,” is what Casey Flippo, CEO of Gold Leaf Management, which operates the Speakeasy Dispensary, said about accessibility to the state’s second medical dispensary.

Casey Flippo is the CEO of Gold Leaf Management. HIs company operates the Speakeasy Dispensary, the newest medical cannabis dispensary in Lexington and the second in the state. (Spectrum News 1/Sabriel Metcalf)

Flippo said products are currently limited to four strains of flower as the company begins its first week of retail.

“Because the market’s just getting rolling. But we have been in constant communication with the wholesale outlets here in the state, and they can expect more and more product diversity to hit the shelves weekly from this point forward,” Flippo said.

Rachel Roberts, executive of the Kentucky Cannabis Industry Alliance, was the dispensary’s first customer on Thursday.

“This afternoon, I’m headed down to northern Kentucky to do a ribbon-cutting for Bison processing, which is the first processor to come online in the state. That means in a couple of weeks, when patients come here, they won’t only have flowers to choose from, they’ll start to have edibles and tinctures and all of those other things that they need for their medicine,” Roberts said.

In Richmond, Natural State Greengrass Canna Co. opened a licensed grower’s site, which will sell Dark Horse flowers, one product found at the Speakeasy.

On Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., joined the businesses to celebrate the Speakeasy.

“It was Craig Manley, a small business owner in McCracken County, who had chronic pain, and Jarrett Bonneville. He’s a retired United States Air Force master sergeant who had suffered from ptsd, was on at least 12 different medications, and used safe, regulated medical cannabis. ” He got his life back on track,” Beshear said.

Beshear said Wednesday at the ribbon-cutting for the store that over 17,000 Kentuckians have been approved for medical marijuana cards, and 509 practitioners are available to help qualify patients.

“Some people that we’re here to treat have ailments that prevent them from being able to stand for long periods of time. And then there’s another thing with discretion, right? I understand that cannabis is a new concept here in the commonwealth, and the biggest thing for us, for our patients, is advocacy and comfort,” Flippo said.

The Speakeasy Dispensary said it is working closely with processors and wholesale outlets to follow Kentucky law and gather feedback from clients.