NORWALK — Fine Fettle’s Chief Operating Officer Ben Zachs said the cannabis company’s 191 Main St. location will open between March 20 and March 30, about two weeks later than he estimated last month.
The incoming Norwalk recreational cannabis dispensary’s “huge” sign was installed on Friday, signaling the business is approaching its opening, Zachs said.
Fine Fettle appears poised to be the first cannabis dispensary to open in Norwalk. Fine Fettle has been racing a second company, Shangri-La Dispensaries, to be the first to open. As of Tuesday morning, the Shangri-La location at 430 Main Ave. had blank banners covering facade signage. Nevil Patel, CEO of Shangri-La, couldn’t be immediately reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Fine Fettle is wrapping up the final approvals it needs, Zachs said.
“We just had our final 100 percent inspection from the DCP,” Zachs said Tuesday.
The 100 percent inspection is an “internal term” meaning the last Department of Consumer Protection inspection before a dispensary will receive its final license, DCP Communications Director Kaitlyn Krasselt said.
“A 100 percent inspection means they’ve completed the build and we’ve completed the final inspection,” Krasselt said.
The 100 percent inspection is the final check-in the DCP conducts after a series of inspections conducted throughout the building process to make sure a dispensary is on-track for completion and not missing and steps, Krasselt said.
Zachs said that the business awaits a temporary certificate of occupancy from the city.
That certificate is one of the last steps, among other paperwork, before a final license is granted, Krasselt said. She couldn’t comment on all of the next steps, but noted that Fine Fettle “has several businesses open, (and) they know the process.”
Fine Fettle has dispensaries open in Manchester, Newington, Old Saybrook, Stamford, and Willimantic, among others in Massachusetts.
Zachs said as the month’s end approaches, decor is being finalized as the store builds up inventory and hires its final employees.
“We have one to two more positions we’re finalizing,” Zachs said.
Zachs said in November that the company was looking to hire Norwalk locals to combat the harms of the war on drugs; he said the company has about five Norwalk residents on staff.
Last month, Zachs said 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 amid a statewide cannabis flower shortage.
H/T: https://www.thehour.com/
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