“Construction is really chugging away,” said Fine Fettle COO Ben Zachs, noting the upcoming dispensary’s final inspection will come in February.
All that’s left to do is painting and installing signs and security features such as cameras and access controls, Zachs said.
Fine Fettle hired a general manager and assistant general manager for the dispensary but will hire other staff members, including budtenders, closer to the opening, he said.
Nevil Patel, CEO of Shangri-La Dispensaries, said its staff has been hired and trained.
“Currently, we’re awaiting the Department of Consumer Protection to carry out their inspection and for the Social Equity Council to grant their approval” for the Shangri-La location, Patel said in an email.
The Fine Fettle grand opening could come in the first or second week of March, Zachs said.
“That’s one of the reasons why we take an extra week or two to open,” he said. “We want to open with something competitive, and we want to open with something where people can get what they want and have a good experience.”
Fine Fettle has been “bulking up” its inventory to make sure that the dispensary will offer a close-to-full menu when it welcomes its first Norwalkers.
The store will open with fewer varieties of cannabis flower, but with an about-normal supply of each strain, Zachs said.
But the biggest barrier to opening is supply, he said. The dispensary will open once it has enough cannabis products to sell.
Patel also said that the menu at Shangri-La’s first Connecticut and Northeast location is a “critical focus” amid the current shortage.
“We’ve been proactive in establishing relationships and initiating communication with nearly all suppliers in the state, ensuring we can offer a varied selection for our customers,” he said.
Shangri-La’s main goal is keeping its shelves fully stocked at all times once open, Patel said.
“In addition to flower products, we’re also focusing on offering a variety of vapes and edible products,” he said. “This approach ensures that our customers have multiple choices and alternatives available, despite the current shortage.”
Despite the difficult cannabis climate in the state, Zachs said he doesn’t expect any first-day jitters.
“I don’t want to be cocky, but we’re pretty good at it,” he said. “We’re pretty good at getting open.”
The Norwalk dispensary will be Fine Fettle’s sixth Connecticut location — in addition to two dispensaries in Massachusetts. Its most recently opened location in Old Saybrook had the same low flower supply hiccups as the incoming Norwalk location, the COO said.
“In Old Saybrook, as an example, we still have flower on the menu because we were able to bulk up on that menu,” Zachs said. “Now we’ve been open two-ish weeks and we’re still comfortable with the menu there.”
Although the flower shortage isn’t fun, he said it’s better than the alternative.
“Demand always outweighs supply upfront because it’s much harder to create supply; much, much, much harder from the infrastructure and timeline perspective,” Zachs said. “The worst thing that can happen is that you just flip the switch the other way and then everything comes online at once.”
A market oversaturated with cannabis supply is far more challenging than a shortage, he said.
“It’s frustrating now, but it is absolutely, 100 percent going to get better,” he said.
As March approaches, Zachs looks forward to developing relationships with local businesses through the Fine Fettle Family Tree program — which is the company’s “internal chamber of commerce,” he said.
Fine Fettle will partner with local businesses to provide reciprocal discount codes and deals and shout-outs on the company’s social media, emails and website.
“It becomes a really nice way for especially locally owned small businesses to promote themselves through us,” Zachs said.
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