No less than three cannabis dispensaries are hoping to open along Columbus Avenue, but marijuana delivery services may already be making them obsolete.
The South End’s cannabis industry may finally be getting into full swing after years of work, with Columbus Avenue as the neighborhood’s marijuana hotspot. Some questions remain about whether so many dispensaries should be concentrated along just one street, and whether brick and mortar stores are really the future of the industry in an area so reliant on delivery for other products.
The South End already has one medical cannabis dispensary up and running, Affinity Medical Marijuana on Albany Street. Steve Fox, head of the South End Forum, says its ongoing community benefits have set the bar for applicants looking to get started in the neighborhood.
“We’ve had them there on Albany Street for several years now operating perfectly. They’ve been a great neighbor, and that’s because we crafted a Memorandum Of Understanding with the owners. Part of that was offering community benefits on an ongoing basis and to be a responsive community member. They’ve been a great partner,” he said.
Two new recreational dispensaries are in the final stages of approval. Redemption Cannabis is looking to set up on Stanhope Street, the longtime project of motherson business duo Geoffrey and Elizabeth Reilinger. After years of setbacks the project is still waiting for approval from the Boston Cannabis Board, but a three-year licensing dispute with a previous tenant needs to be resolved before it can come up for a vote.
Also wrapping up the approval process is Herbal Power LLC, a more recent proposal that’s garnered more controversy from residents. Abutters say it’s not an appropriate location due to its small size, cramped roads and shared space with residential apartments, even escalating to threatening legal action after several fiery community meetings.
While it’s facing pushback from neighbors, the controversy seems to be about the specific location rather than the question of whether there should be dispensaries in the South End altogether. Fox said that’s also true of the broader conversation about cannabis.
“We’ve now seen so many of these proposals that we can separate the chaff from the wheat. Does it have sufficient square footage and loading areas? Will it cause parking issues with people running in? Does it share the building with residences?” he said. “We’re a lot more sophisticated in our assessment of whether this is the location that makes the most sense for a new dispensary. It’s not NIMBYism.”
A third, newer applicant is looking to open on 565 Columbus Avenue. Sweet and Sour LLC headed by Gabe Viera would be the third dispensary on Columbus Ave., which is enough to turn some heads regardless of the often-ignored half-mile buffer zone. Overconcentration, however, might be the least of these businesses worries if cannabis delivery services gets up and running.
Green Flash LLC, headed by Duane Osborn and Mario Signore, has held two community meetings about setting up at 225 Southampton Street. The company is applying for a marijuana delivery operator license, and Fox says that flexible delivery companies may have a leg up on more conventional competitors.
“Once delivery services are up and running, the need for brick-and-mortar dispensaries is going to significantly diminish. The South End has always been a delivery intense neighborhood, far beyond foodstuffs and normal Amazon or retail deliveries,” he said. “Now that the Cannabis Control Commission has finally gotten its act together and given delivery services some guidelines, the customer expectation is going to quickly become going online to comparison shop and have it delivered.”
