ANN ARBOR, MI -- An Ann Arbor business won the historic designation of becoming Michigan’s first-ever recreational marijuana business license applicant at exactly 12:17 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1.

“The state has been very helpful in getting us through this process to make sure we got all of our ducks in a row and submitted our application in its entirety,” said Omar Hishmeh, co-owner of Exclusive Brands. "We’ve aggressively been working on it to be one of the first, so we’re very happy with that.”

The state Marijuana Regulatory Agency, nearly a year after Michigan voters legalized recreational marijuana business, rolled out its licensing program at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

As of noon, 11 businesses had submitted applications, Marijuana Regulatory Director Andrew Brisbo said. Three of those businesses, including Exclusive Brands, have already completed “pre-qualification,” the first of the two-step application process. Pre-qualification focuses on applicant’s background while step two hones in on the planned business activity and includes inspections by the Bureau of Fire Services and Marijuana Regulatory Agency personnel.

The licensing agency didn’t immediately release what city Friday’s applications came from or what types of businesses the applicants intend to operate.

The state expects retail marijuana and marijuana products to become available to the public by the end of March.

Exclusive Brands, 3820 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor

Hishmeh’s company, already a major force in Michigan’s medical marijuana industry, has high hopes for his company’s growth in the recreational market.

Exclusive Brands, located at 3820 Varsity Drive in Ann Arbor, currently holds medical marijuana licenses that allow it to grow up to 1,500 plants, process and retail products. It’s applied for equivalent licenses on the recreational side, but Hishmeh said there are long-term goals of expanding to 15,000-plant operation.

“We’re really hyped up, we just recreated and revamped,” sad Hishmeh, who prior to entering Michigan’s marijuana industry owned multiple car dealerships in Florida. “We have a brand-new retail shop that has a grand opening in three weeks but we’re currently open.”

Hishmeh said Exclusive Brands is currently only able to sell medical marijuana products but plans to sell recreational marijuana when it becomes licensed. Once licensed, the company will grow and harvest recreational marijuana for retail sales.

In addition to its self-contained business, Hishmeh said Exclusive Brands is a wholesale marijuana distributor to nearly 100 dispensaries statewide for various product brands.

“We’re more than ecstatic to be in Ann Arbor,” Hishmeh said, “The way Ann Arbor has treated marijuana in the past makes it even more exciting.”

While the Marijuana Regulatory Agency expects to issue some recreational licenses within a few weeks, the longest it will take to grant or deny licenses is 90 days, a deadline established by the 2018 voter-passed law.