BOSTON — Boston’s Fenway neighborhood may soon be welcoming its first two pot shops after receiving approval from the Zoning Board of Appeal. One of them, proposed by New Dia LLC, is hoping to open its doors right across the street from Fenway Park.
That location, in the basement of the Cask ‘n Flagon, and other one, at the well-known site of Little Stevie’s near Northeastern, are now awaiting final approval from the Cannabis Control Commission.
“You think of that location [by Fenway Park], and you think about the number of tourists that visit that area. Then you think about the cannabis industry and the fact that’s breaking ground,” said Ross Bradshaw, owner of New Dia LLC.
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Bradshaw told Boston 25 News he believes he has an opportunity to make a big difference in the community as an economic empowerment business.
His mission: to change lives, in part, by hiring people with non-violent cannabis-related convictions.
“We’re going to be hiring a majority of our staff from the communities of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mission Hill and Mattapan,” Bradshaw explained. “My primary concern is the safety of the community and repairing the harm from the war on drugs.”
Bradshaw is also proudly opening a dispensary in Worcester on Monday.
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“We will be the first economic empowerment applicant in central Massachusetts and the first minority-owned cannabis business in Worcester,” he added. “It’s setting the tone for equity becoming a priority in the state in the Cannabis Control Commission’s eyes and [in] these major cities like Boston and Worcester.”
The half-mile buffer zone between pot shops, previously established by City Council, did not prevent Tuesday’s approval from the Zoning Board of Appeal. The two prospective Fenway locations are less than a half-mile apart.
Another prospective pot shop is also hoping to open its doors nearby in the Back Bay at 827 Boylston St. across from the Prudential.
Cox Media Group
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