This is an artist rendering of Haven, a recreational marijuana retailer applying to open in Southwick. The building on 681 College Hwy. is the former Family Dollar store.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
SOUTHWICK — Cannabis retailer Haven is only weeks away from opening, nearly two years after it was chosen by the Select Board as one of two dispensaries allowed to operate in town.
“We can’t wait to get it open,” said Mark S. Dupuis, who co-owns the business with Brian Kuchachick. The business will open in the former Family Dollar building at 681 College Hwy.
“I’m getting like 20 calls a day from people wanting to know when we’re opening. People are really excited,” Dupuis said on July 27, standing outside the dispensary, as contractors worked inside the 8,300-square-foot building.
Inside the building, the walls have been framed with metal studs, the electrical wiring has been run, and the sprinkler systems have been installed.
“The drywall should be installed by the end of the week,” Dupuis said.
He’s also setting up accounts with cannabis distributors and has hired Southwick resident Michele Hildebrandt as the store’s general manager.
“She’ll be a great fit for us. She has a fundamental understanding of the business,” Dupuis said of Hildebrandt.
He also said that customers should be prepared for a new experience when shopping.
“I have a lot of events planned that we’ll be offering. But, I’m not announcing them just yet,” he said.
Haven, which operates under the corporate name Responsible and Compliant Southwick LLC, was one of two retailers offered an opportunity to open in town in September 2024. The other is Pioneer Valley Trading Co.
The retailer was approved for a provisional license by the CCC last July, before it applied for and was approved for a special permit by the Planning Board, and before it secured a building permit.
The facility’s building plans were submitted to the CCC for an architectural review; approval came in late December.
Because one of Haven’s principals is a verified social equity applicant, Dupuis said the CCC recently awarded it a $200,000 grant from the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund.
While the business has yet to secure a license to offer medical marijuana, he and Kuchachick are still planning to offer it to customers with state-issued medical marijuana cards.
In April, Gov. Maura Healey signed new legislation that restructured the CCC and eased restrictions on medical marijuana retailers, such as eliminating the requirement that medical marijuana businesses grow and process the cannabis they sell, according to the governor’s office.
Offering medical marijuana is an attractive option for dispensaries because it is not taxed like retail marijuana, which is subject to a state sales tax of 6.25%, a state excise tax of 10.75% and up to a 3% local sales tax. Southwick adopted the 3% tax.
About 4,000 square feet in the rear of the building will be used for manufacturing and white labeling, which is packaging products for other cultivators. Dupuis said that this expands the dispensary’s selection for its customers.
The space will also include a restricted area of about 1,900 square feet for a vault and the manager’s office.
The only change to the building’s exterior will be the addition of a side door on its south side.
Dupuis said Kuchachick recently became affiliated with a 100,000-square-foot grow operation, which will factor into the products Haven offers.
The business will operate under the California-based Haven, which has over a dozen retail operations in Southern California and has expanded into Maine and Maryland.
Dupuis, who has no connection to Mark A. Dupuis, the owner of the now-closed Heka dispensary in Westfield, and Kuchachick will rely on the knowledge the parent company has developed over the last decade while operating medical and retail cannabis dispensaries.
The parent company will also handle the administrative side of the business, taking care of tax payments, accounting and legal services.
