In an irregular Select Board session held on Wednesday, September 3, members heard presentations from four hopeful cannabis store owners, all looking to open the third proposed Bourne dispensary: Bourne Cannabis, Cannal Retail, NLM Inc., d/b/a Cape Cod Dispensary, and Medicine Man Solutions.
Each prospective business has its own model, its own quirks, and its own approach to reach new highs in the marijuana industry—and all are competing for one remaining host community agreement (HCA), without which they cannot open. The Select Board was impressed with the presentations and stated that they will reconvene on Thursday, September 11, at 9:30 AM to make their decision.
Bourne, which granted HCAs to both Chief Cannabis and Capeway Cannabis in 2024 after a series of hearings held in October of that year, still has a third to delegate to a new business owner. This last HCA is intended for a “social equity candidate”: A business owned primarily by someone who was disproportionately affected by the war on drugs—minorities, residents of impacted communities, women, those with prior convictions due to drug charges, et cetera. This is a part of the town’s push to “further the public interest by encouraging diversity in the local cannabis industry,” as per the Select Board’s request for applications (RFA), available on the town website.
Each of the applicants will be scored out of 100 points based on their presentation and the materials provided to the Select Board, a rubric designed by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), which regulates the weed industry in Massachusetts. This rubric metes out points based on several features meant to judge the readiness of the applicant to run a viable, safe, equitable and lawful establishment. Every aspect of each application—location, local involvement, security, consumer education, timeline, et cetera—is considered; however, the plurality of these points is awarded by an “equity metric,” which are given automatically to candidates belonging to a protected class. All of the presentations given by each different cannabis contender can also be found on the town website.
Bourne Cannabis, LLC
The first to present was Michael Kinahan, co-founder and majority owner of Bourne Cannabis LLC, a native of West Bridgewater, and long-term Dorchester resident. Along with Kinahan, Bourne Cannabis is jointly owned by business partners Tejal and Jenish Patel, who each currently operate successful dispensaries in Taunton and New Jersey, respectively, as well as Ana Strojny, a Bourne local and former special education teacher, along with her children, Emily and Mitchell. Steve Strojny, Ana’s husband, is a former Planning Board member and was active in the push to legalize the retail sale of marijuana in Bourne.
Kinahan, who is also the founder and CEO of high-end cannabis cultivation company Tower Three, located in Taunton, is looking to sell a high-end high to Bourne residents—the 6,475 square-foot projected location at 694 MacArthur Boulevard would feature a sleek, heavily-modernized interior, with a projected $800,000 buildout cost. Kinahan noted that the project was fully funded, and he projected profits of $11.8 million by 2028. Further, Bourne Cannabis would award employee stock options to their 20-plus employees, in addition to full benefits, and a $20 per hour starting salary.
Steve Strojny stated that Bourne Cannabis already has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Choubah Engineering, which is building a 24-unit residential complex at 340 Main Street, to offer four units of the future housing to staff members, and provide a housing assistance plan for younger employees.
Select Board members had several questions.
“You see a lot of these stores closing across the state; the market is oversaturated,” selectman Peter Meier said. “So, what made you decide to build in Bourne? And what makes you stick out?”
Steve Strojny replied, pointing out that Bourne Cannabis is fully funded, without high interest payments on loans that tend to put smaller operations in severe debt before they open their doors. Kinahan added that he believed that Bourne Cannabis would still be able to fetch a higher price point because of the quality of his products and their relative exclusivity in the state. Further, he noted that Bourne Cannabis will be eligible to receive a license to become a medical marijuana treatment center (MTC). Because Kinahan already owns a cultivation center, his business would be “vertically integrated,” a current state requirement before receiving an MTC, meaning that it cultivates, packages, ships and sells marijuana. No cannabis would be grown at the Bourne location, however.
“Bourne is really a gatekeeper of the entire Cape,” Strojyn said. “We feel we’d do well here.”
Select Board member Anne-Marie Siroonian questioned the projected location, given that Capeway Cannabis is set to open its doors to customers just up the road. However, Kinahan stated that he was confident in the quality of his products, given the small-batch, award-winning flower grown by Tower Three that Bourne Cannabis would sell. When asked how he qualifies as a social equity candidate, Kinahan noted that he has lived in Dorchester, which the CCC has identified as an “area of disproportionate impact,” for seven years.
Cannal Retail, LLC
Next to present was Cannal Retail, owned by Jordan T. Gomes, who presented alongside business partner and consultant David Rabinovitz. Gomes, a Cape Verdean and African American native of Wareham, was a participant in the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s Social Equity Program (SEP). The SEP “provides participants with education, skills-based training, and tools for success in the [cannabis] industry,” according to the CCC’s website; Rabinovitz was a technical advisor to the SEP program, and he and Gomes met during Gomes’ education with the CCC. Rabinovitz is also a member of the Plainville Planning Board and a Pan-Mass Challenge volunteer.
Gomes’ goal is to create a “small, local dispensary” that focuses significantly on deliveries—a service that all of the applicants are licensed to provide. Both Gomes and Rabinovitz drew the Select Board’s attention to the current economic state of the cannabis industry in Massachusetts, and argued that their low-overhead, low-cost, and direct-to-consumer approach would be more successful in the long run than the alternatives. Further, Rabinovitz noted that of the “369 active unexpired cannabis retail licenses, 16 of those are held by social equity candidates, and 20 by economic empowerment candidates. The takeaway from this is that 10% of active licenses are held by folks who require social equity or economic empowerment. They’ve struggled to gain any traction in this industry.” Gomes would be among this number.
Rabinovitz stressed that prices of cannabis have dropped precipitously in the past several years. After legalization, there was a boom in prices—dispensaries had lines out the door, required extra security, and could sell a gram of flower for upwards of $15. Today, an average gram of marijuana costs $4.08. An average dispensary could expect to rake in a tidy profit—averaging around $13 million a year—before 2019. But “right now, an average store is generating about $4 million a year,” Rabinovitz said.
“Prices of cannabis have dropped 70% in a little over four years, and when you factor in inflation, it’s more like 81%,” Rabinovitz continued. Thus, Gomes and he argued, “A large store with a substantial buildout cost is likely not able to compete or survive long term.”
“I don’t believe anybody who spends too much money in a market with this much competition—surrounded by communities that already have retail—can survive long term,” Rabinovitz concluded.
Gomes spoke at length about the measures he would take to be a responsible operator, including high-end ID scanners, security systems, regular inventory audits, among other measures, and brought examples of the product packaging that would be on offer.
Select Board members praised Gomes and Rabinovitz for going “above and beyond” in their market research, compliance, and understanding of state law; however, they also noted the lack of a proposed location in their application “was a factor” in how they would be evaluated.
“I thought that your application was unique,” Select Board member Mary Jane Mastrangelo said. “The thoughtful answers you gave in response to our questions and template really demonstrated that you understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. I think you’re almost the quintessential social equity candidate.”
Gomes and Rabinovitz also stated that the CCC plans to offer retail-only medical licenses in the near future, and that Gomes’ intent is to apply for that license as soon as it is available, which would enable Cannal Retail to serve Bourne patients waiting patiently for a prescription marijuana option.
NLM, inc. d/b/a Cape Cod Dispensary
Cape Cod Dispensary, primarily owned by Christopher Vining of Somerville, was represented by a large group of Bourne locals, including former police chief Dennis Woodside, franchise owners and local fixtures Nichole and Steven McCarthy, and Massachusetts marijuana magnates Steven and Jeff Perkins. Their application was presented primarily by Valerio Romano, an attorney specializing in cannabis licensing.
Vining, who currently operates The Goods dispensary in Somerville, qualifies as a social equity candidate due to his long-term residence in Somerville. The proposed 2,688-square-foot dispensary would be located at 204 Main Street and requires a $1.25 million outlay for its buildout. Romano emphasized the ideal location, intensive security measures, and the strength of the Cape Cod Dispensary Team.
NLM, controlled by the Perkins brothers, Steven and Jeff, is the parent company of Cape Cod Dispensary, and already operates several dispensaries in Fitchburg, Brockton and Somerville, among other locations. They were among the original pioneers of recreational marijuana establishments in the Bay State.
The planned establishment would lean into the upscale market, similarly to Bourne Cannabis, and features a sleek, heavily modernized interior.
Select Board members were impressed by the Cape Cod Dispensary team, and especially with the inclusion of Woodside as a security consultant.
“For him to sign onto this, it means a lot—he doesn’t put his name on anything…The McCarthy name has been big in Bourne for years—a very generous family,” selectman Peter Meier said. “It means a lot…all of these projects so far have been dynamic and interesting in their own ways. This will be a hard decision all around.”
Cape Cod Dispensary team members stated that they would make every effort to ensure their hiring process was equitable.
“I try to build people up…who can choose to grow these jobs into careers, like we have,” Vining said. “We will be diverse; we will take every measure to have the most diverse staff imaginable.” Vining added that he would be looking at where Cape Cod Dispensary’s “corporate citizenship will have the most impact in Bourne.” He added that partnering with the Chamber of Commerce would allow the team to best identify how they can make an impact, locally. Similar to Cannal Retail, the team stated that they would apply for a retail medical marijuana license as soon as it became available from the state.
Cape Cod Dispensary team members stated that they would be able to open “earlier than at least one of the dispensaries which has already been given an HCA,” according to Romano, and were confident that they would be able to hit the ground running.
Medicine Man Solutions, LLC
Last to present was Haskell O. Kennedy III, owner of Medicine Man Solutions, who already owns a retail location in Taunton and is looking to serve a larger clientele on Cape Cod. He was joined by Jenny Roseman and Phillip Smith of Freshly Baked, both armed forces veterans, who own a cannabis production company also based in Taunton.
“We are a 100% minority- and veteran-owned, social equity-certified company,” Kennedy said. “We’re not 50%, we’re not 51%—the people you see here today are the people that will operate this business… We have already completed the process to open a retail location in the state. Therefore, we’re very aware of the process, the capital and the fortitude that it takes to get there.”
Kennedy is an African American third-generation Barnstable County native who attended Barnstable High School’s Class of 1996, where he was a Cape and Islands all-star before heading off to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His grandfather, Haskell Kennedy Sr., a World War II and Boston Police veteran, was a member of the Town of Barnstable Council on Aging before his death in 2018. “He is now buried in the veteran’s cemetery in Bourne, not far from here,” Kennedy said.
He touted his 20 years of experience in retail business, and is a licensed general contractor and real estate appraiser. Kennedy was confident that his team “could move pretty fast” towards opening, within a year of receiving an HCA, and emphasized his commitment to customer safety. He stated that he was committed to hiring at least 50% of his staff locally, and that he would hire local contractors to assist in his fit-out process.
Smith and Roseman spoke about their success and experience in the marijuana industry. Their company Freshly Baked is “one of only three Black-owned [cannabis] manufacturing companies” in Massachusetts, according to Smith, and was the “first licensed cannabis home delivery operator in Massachusetts” in 2021. Smith was a founding member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council, and is a Marine Corp veteran, having served in combat missions from 2000 to 2004. Roseman, similarly, was a 9/11 first responder at the Pentagon and an Air Force veteran. Since the two already own a cannabis cultivation operation, Medicine Man would be able to offer medical marijuana in the near future, given their partnership with Kennedy.
The proposed location at 4 Bourne Bridge Approach did raise questions for the Select Board. Formerly the site of TJ’s Restaurant, and before that a Salvation Army, businesses have not had a strong track record on the property.
“That’s a challenging spot,” Select Board member Jeanne Azarovitz said. “But you do make a good point that this is a suitable business for that location.”
“I find many benefits to the location,” Kennedy replied. “If you talk to 10 people, five will tell you it’s the best location, and a few who would say it’s not… But if you get 80% of what you’re looking for, you try to mitigate the 20% that is a problem…when you look at the cannabis industry, the store is more like a destination.” Kennedy felt this differentiated his planned store from the other establishments that came before it.
“You’re going to have your challenges, but maybe this is the best place for it,” selectman Peter Meier added.
