28°
Would you be in favor of a topless marijuana dispensary?
- Yes
- No
- I don't care
Nicholas Spagnola, a co-owner of Club Castaway in Whately, spoke with the town's selectboard earlier this month to unveil his revolutionary plan to carve out a "niche" in the fast-growing cannabis retail space.
“Our goal would be to operate a topless dispensary and to remove nude dancing and alcohol from the license,” Spagnola said.
Spagnola and his business partner Julius Sokol bought Club Castaway in 2019 but had to close soon after because of COVID. He told members of the board that they plan to reopen in the next 60 days, but they hope to convert to a dispensary soon after. They have reached an agreement to purchase Shine Diamond LLC's provisional license from the Cannabis Control Commission to sell marijuana.
Spagnola told the board that he is unaware of any other topless dispensaries in the state, and it could be the first of its kind in the country.
That novelty can create regulatory trouble. Spagnola said he wanted to speak with the selectboard to make the transition "as smooth as possible" and manage any bureaucratic snags before they arise.
Whately leaders were curious about who would work at a place like that. Spagnola said he doesn't expect to have a shortage of applicants.
"It may surprise you, but we’ve never had a shortage of employees who wanted to work at Castaways," he said. "I do think, some of our former employees that we’ve worked with would love to be involved with something like this. We’re confident we can create the protocol to create a safe working environment like we did at Castaways. I think we can come up with a framework that works and that drives business to the site. And just come up with a management protocol that makes the whole concept a win-win.”
Spagnola and Sokol will need approval from several state and local authorities before moving forward with the plan.
Click here to watch Spagnola's presentation to the Whately Selectboard.
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