The drive-through window at a former Wendy’s near Midtown Tampa may soon be handing customers medical marijuana instead of hamburgers.
MINT Cannabis plans to transform the roughly 2,600-square-foot building at 2036 N. Dale Mabry Highway, just north of Interstate 275, into a dispensary where customers can collect orders placed in advance without leaving their vehicles.
The project represents the next step in MINT’s expansion across Florida, where a joint venture between MINT and Shango acquired an immediate retail and production network for $5 million and now operates 17 approved dispensing locations.
Its planned Tampa store would enter a medical marijuana market approaching 939,000 patients statewide.
No orders will be taken at the drive-through window, according to the site plan, which also shows exterior renovations and new signage.
Plans call for closing the property’s northern entrance on Dale Mabry Highway, retaining the southern driveway and reducing its parking supply from 48 spaces to 46.
MINT established its Florida presence through a joint venture with fellow cannabis operator Shango, which acquired 14 Cannabist dispensaries and two cultivation and manufacturing facilities in Alachua and Arcadia in November 2024.
The transaction included approximately $3 million paid in cash and a $2 million promissory note. It gave MINT and Shango an immediate statewide retail and production network after the Cannabist Company decided to leave Florida, where it said its operations had not been profitable.
MINT now operates 17 approved dispensing locations in Florida, including stores in Brandon, Bradenton, Riverview and Sarasota. During the week ending July 30, the company dispensed more than 6.1 million milligrams of THC in medical marijuana products and approximately 1,060 ounces of marijuana for smoking statewide.
Florida had 938,980 qualified medical marijuana patients and 771 approved dispensing locations as of July 31.
MINT has not disclosed when the Tampa dispensary is expected to open or how many people it will employ. Orka Design Build is the project’s general contractor, and Free Course Inc. owns the property.