New England Craft Cultivators licensed to open retail store
By JON WINKLER | jwinkler@nashobavalleyvoice.com | Nashoba Valley Voice
PEPPERELL — New England Craft Cultivators is one step closer to opening two retail marijuana businesses in two different towns.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the company announced it had received provisional licenses from the Cannabis Control Commission to open its first official locations in Pepperell and Dracut.
The company wants to open a retail marijuana store at 112-114 Main St., home of the previously-vacant Paugus Plaza in Pepperell and 61 Sylvia Lane in Dracut.
“The Cannabis Control Commission and local officials have been professional and the application process is rigorous,” Ture Turnbull the company’s co-founder, said in the release. “We’re happy to be one step closer to investing in Pepperell and Dracut. Our stores are focused on offering the most product variety of cannabis products to consumers across the Merrimack Valley and Greater Lowell areas. We’re thrilled for the road ahead and can’t wait to start hiring local and getting these stores open.”
NECC first pitched its plans to open a store in Pepperell to the Board of Selectmen back in February. The company is now planning to file a special permit to the town Planning Board and then sign a host community agreement before opening. To beef up the surrounding location the store will be found at, the company is looking to add murals, landscaping and exterior updates to the building.
The Pepperell Garden Club will be partnering with NECC to add native vegetation and perform more cosmetic improvements to the mall. Still, the company still wants community input on how to best make the store fit into downtown Pepperell.
“We’re going to be taking suggestions from residents and business owners about what to call this new commerce center that has been underutilized for many years, we’ve already heard ‘The Craft District’ and ‘The Green Light District’ but we’re wide open to other suggestions,” Wes Ritchie, the company’s other co-founder, added in the release. “In addition to filling a vacant storefront and bringing jobs to town we want to reactivate this section of Pepperell from an economic development perspective. With our backgrounds in state and municipal government, we feel strongly about being good, responsible partners that contribute to the local economy and civic life.”
