BENNINGTON — A regional company with experience in recreational cannabis, cultivation and medical marijuana is preparing to open a dispensary at 201 Northside Drive.
Silver Therapeutics is now at work in the building, said Brendan McKee, a partner in the company, and hopes to finish renovating some 1,567 square feet of interior space and receive a certificate of occupancy from the town within 30 to 45 days.
Silver Therapeutics is awaiting licensing approval from the state, but McKee said that process is progressing smoothly.
“I think we are in good shape on our application,” McKee said, adding, “Our goal is to open before the end of the year.”
He said the group is pleased with the Northside Drive location “on a popular highway,” and near the entrance to the shopping center with Walmart and Price Chopper market.
The building, which previously was the site of a firearms shop, will be leased from owner Monument Holdings LLC.
Silver Therapeutics operates a dispensary in Williamstown, Mass. The recreational cannabis dispensary opened in 2019 in the Colonial Shopping Center on Main Street, or Route 2.
The company also operates three dispensaries in Maine, including two in the Portland area; one in Palmer, Mass.; and has one expected to open early next year in Boston.
Silver Therapeutics also has a cultivation facility in Brunswick, Maine.
VERMONT TIES
McKee said the company “is looking forward to serving the Bennington community,” and providing a team that includes staff members living in Vermont or nearby.
That includes McKee, a resident of Washington, Vt., and the regional manager for operations in all three states, Brian Mullaney, of Shaftsbury.
David Buckler, in Williamstown, is the director of operations.
“We want to be part of the community,” McKee said.
Other company partners include Josh Silver, who is working on the state cannabis license application, and Josh Ferranto, in Maine, who has experience with medical uses for cannabis and has worked as a medical caregiver with marijuana.
WIDE SELECTION
The plan for the Bennington dispensary is to “offer as much as we possibly can,” in terms of cannabis products, McKee said.
He said that will depend at first on the rollout of cultivation by Vermont growers, who — like dispensaries — are going through the licensing process for the first time this year. The company intends to reach out to growers around the state as potential suppliers, he said.