STRATFORD — A Connecticut-based cannabis company is set to open the town’s first dispensary next week at a shopping center in the north end, more than two years after local officials opened the door to the burgeoning industry.
Budr Cannabis, which operates stores in Danbury and West Hartford, announced Monday that it plans to open its latest retail facility next Tuesday at the Oronoque Plaza on Main Street.
“As we prepare to open our doors in Stratford, we feel a profound sense of anticipation and responsibility,” co-founder Derrick Gibbs said in a statement. “Budr is more than just a place to buy cannabis; it’s a space where community and education intertwine. We’re not just here to sell a product but to help usher in a new understanding of cannabis and its potential.”
In a news release, the company said it plans to offer 40 percent discounts on the day of the grand opening as well as games, contests and a raffle hosted by the Two Roads Brewing Company.
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The zoning commission approved the store earlier this year, marking the third time the panel authorized plans to open a dispensary in town limits since state lawmakers moved to legalize the recreational cannabis market in 2021.
But the hybrid facility, which will sell recreational and medical marijuana products, will be the first to open its doors to customers after Budr rushed to set up the previously vacant storefront, which is across the street from Sikorsky Aircraft.
The company behind the first authorized store decided to not move forward with the project after facing an issue with the building’s lease. The other store, which was proposed by a Michigan-based company, is set to open in the coming months at the old Johnny’s Restaurant on Honeyspot Road.
The dispensaries will be the only locations within Stratford unless zoning officials loosen the rules around recreational marijuana sales. The panel voted in 2022 to allow dispensaries, but chose to limit the number to a total of two.
Budr, which Gibbs co-founded last year with Carl Tirella Jr., has been awarded licenses to operate six stores in the state, according to the state Department of Consumer Protection, the agency tasked with regulating the budding recreational cannabis business.
Tirella has said the now-approved store is part of a rapid expansion of Budr and that the company plans to open several locations over the next year, including one in New York. The company opened its newest store in Tolland this spring and has proposed to open another in Stamford.
“We treat each customer as an honored guest,” Tirella Jr. said. “Our mission is to safely provide access to cannabis with the best possible consumer experience.”
The shopping center where Budr plans to open the store is about a half-mile north of the Merritt Parkway. Tirella has said Budr specifically searched for a location in a different part of town than the dispensary planned for Honeyspot Road, which is expected to open by the end of the year.
Though the zoning officials ultimately approved the store, the proposal faced pushback from two separate medical practices located at the shopping center. Both claimed the dispensary would harm their practices by discouraging parents who do not want their children potentially exposed to marijuana sales.
Barry Knott, a local attorney who represented Budr, suggested at the time the arguments were unfair since the shopping plaza already includes a liquor store. He stressed the dispensary will check customer’s IDs before allowing them to enter and that no products will be consumed on site.
Knott, who said the dispensary plans to store the cannabis products in a concrete and steel vault, also noted the store will employ between 10 to 15 full-time workers and will initially have security officials on hand when it opens.
“My client plans to have security presence for the first week of operation but based upon his experience with other facilities that he owns and is operating in Connecticut … security is not an issue when you open up these facilities,” Knott said.
H/T: www.ctpost.com
