Marijuana remains an illegal substance under federal law.
But cannabis is now legal in 40 states and the District of Columbia for medical use and in 24 states for recreational adult use.
So it may not surprise that there nearly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the U.S. and that 79% of Americans live in a county where there is at least one cannabis shop.
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Many of these cannabis dispensaries were developed via the adaptive reuse of vacant commercial real estate.
One property type that has been a popular reuse candidate for cannabis dispensaries?
Former restaurant buildings.
So on the unofficial “4/20” cannabis holiday there are a number of restaurant-to-dispensary conversion examples to review.
These include former casual dining restaurants, vacant fast food sites and even several “classic” Pizza Hut restaurants.
A Bob Evans Restaurant-turned-cannabis dispensary in Missouri
A former Bob Evans restaurant in St Peters, MO was converted into a cannabis shop by Mint Dispensary.
The operators of the cannabis dispensary liked both the location of the former restaurant and the solidly constructed all-brick building.
But they instructed their design team and contractor to make modifications to the exterior so that the building didn’t “scream former Bob Evans restaurant.”
After extensive exterior and interior renovations, Mint Dispensary opened in the ~5,300 square foot former Bob Evans restaurant building in 2023.
Conversions of former Burger King restaurants to dispensaries
Multiple former Burger King quick service restaurants have been repurposed as cannabis dispensaries.
These include a repurposed Burger King in Woodstock, IL that opened for business as a dispensary in March 2025, just six months after Terrabis obtained city council approval.
Another former Burger King in Lakehurst, NJ was repurposed as a High Profile Cannabis dispensary.
Still other Burger King-turned-cannabis dispensaries can be found in Colorado, Minnesota, Maryland and Florida.
Even the White Earth Nation, a federally recognized band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, is eyeing a former Burger King site in North Dakota for a new dispensary.
Repurposes of “classic” Pizza Hut restaurants as dispensaries
Perhaps some of the most interesting restaurant-to-cannabis dispensary conversions are repurposes of “classic” dine-in Pizza Hut restaurants.
These low slung buildings with iconic pitched red roofs, brick exteriors and trapezoid windows dominated the suburban landscape in the 1980s and 1990s.
Back in 2004 there were reportedly 6,304 classic Pizza Hut units still standing.
But many of the dine-in restaurants were closed over the past two decades as Pizza Hut largely transitioned to a delivery and carryout model.
These closures resulted in many vacant former Pizza Hut restaurant buildings including several that were repurposed as cannabis dispensaries.
Like Sunburn Cannabis in Indialantic, FL a town on Florida’s Space Coast.
As well as Curaleaf medical marijuana dispensary in Lancaster, PA which opened in 2022 and was Curaleaf’s first location in Lancaster County.
Or the appropriately named “Bud Hut,” a dispensary located in a former Pizza Hut restaurant in Walsenburg, CO.
Not all Pizza Hut restaurants-turned-cannabis dispensaries have thrived.
For instance Weed World in Marquette, MI opened several years ago in a repurposed Pizza Hut.
Weed World was not only a cannabis dispensary but also featured arcade games and even cultural art.
It was a top social gathering place—and one of the first dispensaries to open in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
However, Weed World permanently closed a couple of months ago.
There appears to have been a pause in recent years of some Pizza Hut conversions into cannabis dispensaries—or other adaptive reuses.
That may have to do with a program that Pizza Hut introduced a few years ago to, as classic Pizza Hut fans have noted, support and finance the renovation of its “classic” dine-in restaurants.
Franchisees that took part in this program added nostalgic touches to dozens of classic restaurants including updated interiors complete with checkered tablecloths, red vinyl booths and even Pizza Hut lamps.
However, reports suggest that Pizza Hut corporate eliminated the classic format renovation program after a previous leadership change.
Now even more changes may be in order for Pizza Hut.
Pizza Hut’s corporate parent company—Yum Brands YUM 0.00%↑—plans to shut hundreds of additional restaurants and perhaps even sell the chain.
These corporate actions may result in even more closings of classic Pizza Hut dine-in restaurant buildings.
And, perhaps, additional future Pizza Hut-to-cannabis dispensary conversions.
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