NEW HAVEN — The city’s first cannabis dispensary and retailer is looking to move to a new location in Quinnipiac Meadows to replace a long-standing diner near Interstate 91.
Affinity Dispensary submitted an application to the City Plan Commission for a special permit for a hybrid cannabis retail facility at 420 Middletown Ave.
The site right off Exit 8 currently houses 91 Diner, which was incorporated 36 years ago, according to the state’s database. The diner’s owner didn’t respond to an email request for comment and wasn’t able to immediately comment when reached by phone Tuesday morning.
When the New Haven Register stopped by the diner Tuesday afternoon, a worker, who said they were aware of the proposal, said no one was available to talk about it.
Ray Pantalena, Affinity’s owner, wasn’t immediately available to comment Tuesday.
According to Affinity’s application, a 250-square-foot product vault is proposed to be adjacent to the existing 4,736-square-foot structure, totaling 4,986 square feet. The interior will be repurposed to include both dispensary and recreational cannabis sections.
In terms of security, the proposed renovation will include 30 cameras “recording every square foot” inside and outside, with glass armor windows and doors. The application also noted that the size of the building is similar to the business’ current one in Westville.
The plan will be up for a public hearing before the City Plan Commission Wednesday night, according to its meeting agenda.
In search for a larger location, Affinity initially eyed a move to Amity Plaza near the New Haven-Woodbridge border, which was about 50 percent larger than its current Whalley Avenue location. That plan didn’t succeed.
Another proposal of what could be the city’s second cannabis operator before the City Plan Commission is a plan to convert the former site of Long Wharf Theater into a dispensary. Massachusetts-based company Insa signed a 10-year lease for the space.
Florida-based company Trulieve Holdings Inc. earlier this year expressed interest in converting Dairy Queens in the Hill neighborhood to a marijuana store but later withdrew the application to focus their effort in the South.
H/T: www.nhregister.com
