HAMDEN — A recreational cannabis facility has been proposed to replace a local deli on Whitney Avenue, marking the second such proposal the town has received in less than a month.
Connecticut-based Higher Collective has requested a special permit to convert P&M Fine Foods, an Italian market, deli and catering company at 3825 Whitney Ave., into a retail cannabis establishment, according to an application submitted to the Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission.
Plans show that the applicant will repurpose P&M’s roughly 2,500-square foot building into a cannabis retail shop with a drive-thru lane. The proposed hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, according to the plans.
A traffic study included in the application found that the proposed cannabis facility would have a limited impact on traffic in the area. “The increases in peak-hour site trips will not significantly change the average traffic delays at area intersections,” the study states.
The commission opened a public hearing on the application Tuesday night but decided to table it until its Nov. 14 meeting.
Pino Ciccone, co-owner of P&M Fine Foods, which also has locations in New Haven and Branford, said Tuesday that the applicant had approached him about buying the property on Whitney Avenue, but a deal had not yet been finalized.
Ciccone said sales at P&M in Hamden, which opened last year and was the first of the store’s locations to serve wood-fired pizza, have been “in the middle.”
“It’s not like we need to sell it,” Ciccone said, but added that he would let go of the property under the right circumstances.
Higher Collective operates a chain of recreational dispensaries in Connecticut. Its first two stores in Killingly and Willington opened this month. The company also plans to open stores in Hartford and New London, according to its website.
Earlier this month, the Hamden PZC approved an application for the town’s first recreational cannabis shop at the Keating Bros. Motors Inc. car dealership at 2607 Whitney Ave.
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