Two adult-use retail cannabis dispensaries opened in Connecticut on Friday.
Trulieve, a Tallahassee, Florida-based cannabis company that previously operated a medical-only dispensary in Bristol, moved to a new location in Bristol at 820 Farmington Ave. last month. The hybrid dispensary opened to the general public, those 21 and older, at 10 a.m. Friday, but will continue to serve medical patients.
Meanwhile, the state’s first social equity dispensary opened in Manchester at 9 a.m. Friday. Operated by Fine Fettle, the dispensary is at 91 Hale Road and is the first recreational-only dispensary in Connecticut.
The Bristol dispensary is Trulieve’s first in Connecticut. Its hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The first hour of each day will be reserved for medical sales only.
The new location should be able to handle the expected increase in traffic and sales, the company said.
“Trulieve has a long history in Connecticut that dates back to the first medical cannabis sale in 2014, so we are proud to now offer adult-use cannabis in the state,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers.
The Manchester dispensary is Fine Fettle’s fourth in Connecticut. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Operating under a special license approved by the Social Equity Council, Fine Fettle-Manchester is run by CEO, Kennard Ray, who spent time in prison for drug and gun-related convictions when he was younger. He has since become a community leader in Hartford and around the state.
Social equity licenses are meant to help ensure diversity in the state’s growing cannabis industry.
“To have this retail location open so quickly after adult-use cannabis sales began in Connecticut is a testament to our state’s focus on an equitable future of this industry,” Ray said. “Being homegrown and local has allowed us to move swiftly through this process and create an enormous opportunity for our team and the type of community where I grew up.”
Fine Fettle, also a multistate cannabis operator, has other locations in Newington, Willimantic and Stamford. The company’s other Connecticut locations are hybrid dispensaries that serve both medical and adult-use customers.
Fine Fettle also recently received local zoning approval to build a nearly 46,000-square-foot cannabis cultivation facility in Bloomfield.
