The Oak Park Heights City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a conditional-use permit for a retail cannabis business in the Joseph’s restaurant space.
The business will be known as Mango Cannabis and it will occupy the entire building at 14608 60th St. N., City Administrator Jacob Rife said. The restaurant is expected to move to a different location in the area, he said.
The application for a conditional-use permit to operate the retail cannabis business was submitted by Kevin Pattah, of ABJKM Holdings, and Boundary Waters Capital. They also have submitted an application for a permit to open a Mango Cannabis in the former Devil’s Advocate restaurant at 14200 60th St. N., in Stillwater, a half-mile west of Joseph’s.
When officials at ABJKM Holdings applied for the retail registration in Stillwater, the number of retail cannabis locations allowed in the city was capped at one, Pattah told Oak Park Heights city council members on Tuesday night. Stillwater has since increased the cap to allow four retail locations; Oak Park Heights also will allow four locations.
“Oak Park Heights has always been our destination for a Mango location,” Pattah said. “Joseph’s fit our demographics.”
What about the cupola?
Council member Mark Swenson asked Pattah about his plans for the cupola on the roof of Joseph’s, which has been a city landmark since the restaurant, then known as Big Ben, opened.
Joseph’s, an Oak Park Heights restaurant, pictured Oct. 9, 2025. (Mars King / Pioneer Press)
“Joseph’s has been a staple of the community for years, and the cupola that’s on the top of the roof has always been the kind of the gathering point, ever since it was with Big Ben,” Swenson said.
The community is losing a staple, Swenson said. “I mean, that was the place to go. If you’re going for breakfast or lunch, you go to Joseph’s, right? I’ve received just about as many calls on this as I did about the Highway 36 bridge.”
Swenson said he would like to see the cupola removed if the building will no longer house Joseph’s. “Let it be gone,” he said. “That’s not the restaurant anymore. It’s not what it used to be.”
“You want it gone?” Pattah asked.
“It’s part of change,” Swenson said. “I mean, those are my feelings.”
Joseph’s owner Sam Leon did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Pattah reassured the council that the owners of Joseph’s plan to relocate the restaurant in the area.
“Everyone has been asking about it,” he said. “I’ve talked to them numerous times, and their goal is to relocate, and they’re possibly thinking about relocating up the street, if I’m not mistaken.”
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The Oak Park Heights City Council in July approved plans for the city’s first retail cannabis business, Oak Park Heights Canna, at 14729 60th St. N., near Carbone’s Pizzeria & Pub. The store is expected to open sometime in 2026, Rife said.
“We get calls all the time from folks interested in opening retail cannabis operations in the city,” Rife said. “We certainly understand their desire to be here. It’s a robust business corridor and a desirable place for people to do business.”
Because cannabis retail businesses are not legal in Wisconsin, just across the border, the Minnesota 36 corridor in Oak Park Heights is a prime location for potential shops, Rife said.
“That obviously is going to enhance the interest in locating here,” he said.
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