Cannabis Store Pitched For Tewksbury Main Street Location
TEWKSBURY, MA — Cannafords/Sundaze is working toward opening a marijuana retail location at a Main Street location. Cannabis consultant Ezra Parzybok and co-owner Brad Tosto presented the proposal to the Select Board at its Jan. 23 meeting.
Select Board Chair Todd Johnson said Tewksbury can award up to three retail sales licenses. Two have already been awarded, and the Cannafords/Sundaze proposal, if approved, would be the third.
A previous version of the project was not approved. Johnson said that his main concerns were regarding traffic and operator experience.
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The proposal is for a 4,050-square-foot cannabis retail space at 2504 Main St., site of the former Sal’s Just Pizza. The store would “fill a vacant property in an industry-preferred location,” according to Parzybok.
Parzybok said that regarding traffic, it’s expected that the store will have peak traffic of 20 vehicles per hour. He compared that to an average Dunkin’ location, which would see around 100 vehicles per hour at peak. A study found that the marijuana retailer would have a minimal impact on traffic.
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Board members expressed concerns about parking at the site, noting that traffic could exceed predictions and cause headaches.
At first, marijuana retailers had high levels of traffic when there were few locations in the area. But Parzybok noted that because so many cannabis businesses have opened in New England, that isn’t the case anymore.
“Each dispensary is not competing in terms of parking spaces. They’re competing in terms of market share,” he said at the meeting.
The Tewksbury location would have either 17 or 18 parking spaces dedicated to customers.
The store would have local ownership. Tosto said they recently held a community outreach meeting.
One neighbor showed up who wanted a fence between the business and his home.
“We’re trying to be good neighbors,” Tosto said. “We know this is new. We know people are raising families…We’re going to do everything can to ensure this is a safe area.”
Another cannabis retailer has also submitted a proposal to the town which has not yet come before the board.
The Select Board voted to table the matter until March. However, Johnson said they intend to vote on the proposal soon.
“We’re not going to sit on this for six months,” he said.
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