The now-closed Great American Steak Buffet at 5902 Richmond Hwy. will be taken over by a new medical cannabis dispensary, Beyond / Hello.
The steakhouse closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond / Hello has close to 30 locations spread out in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, California and Massachusetts. The two current Virginia locations are in Sterling and Manassas.
The medical cannabis dispensary provides a variety of types of medical cannabis, including gummies and vapes. Medical cannabis may be used to treat chronic pain and inflammation disorders, complications from HIV, ALS, Crohn’s disease and other conditions. To be able to get the substance, patients must get a validation card from a licensed doctor.
The company has also opened “adult-use” dispensaries in California and in Illinois, two of the states where possession and use of small quantities of marijuana is legal.
Virginia is working toward this and marijuana is legal in the District of Columbia. A bill sponsored by Virginia Sen. Adam Ebbin, who represents the Alexandria area, is seeking to speed up the sale of recreational marijuana at existing medical marijuana facilities in the state. If the bill passes the Senate and House and Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs it, recreational sales could start as early as September of this year.
Construction on the new Beyond Hello has not yet started and an opening date is not available yet.