Since first opening its doors in Willimantic in June 2019, Fine Fettle has provided marijuana products for medical purposes. Currently, Fine Fettle has two other locations in addition to its Willimantic location: a Newington store that opened in September 2019 and a Stamford location that opened March of this year.
The business has expanded outside of Connecticut, with Massachusetts locations in Rowley and Martha”™s Vineyard plus a planned location in Georgia. As for expansions in Connecticut, CEO Benjamin Zachs is looking to open six additional dispensaries.
“The fascinating piece about cannabis is this intersection of medical, business, political, social justice, social equity, criminal justice,” he said. “You”™re not just an entrepreneur starting a company ”” you”™re an entrepreneur creating an industry.”
In Connecticut, Fine Fettle”™s stores highlight the benefits of medical marijuana for treatments of debilitating medical conditions such as chronic pain or Parkinson”™s disease, as well as helping those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, reducing the severity of anxiety and depression.
In Stamford, products commonly sold to relieve conditions include Indicol or Sativarin micro tables, Goudaven BA, Lexikan flower, Haracept T29 and Fioraden B pre-rolls. Consumers seeking to use these treatments must be in possession of a medical marijuana certificate from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, which they may receive if they have a qualifying medical condition.
According to Zachs, Fine Fettle prides itself on quality customer service. The Stamford store has about a dozen employees on hand, including dispensary technicians and pharmacists. To maintain affable customer””employee relations, the management at Fine Fettle strive to maintain good working relations between themselves and their employees.
“It”™s a trickle-down effect,” Zachs said. “If you have happy employees, you”™re likely to have happy customers.”
Although customers praise Fine Fettle”™s products and services, the dispensary company has run into some trouble keeping its business running. For instance, Fine Fettle is not able to use a national bank and its customers cannot use credit cards for their purchases. Additionally, the licensing process to enter was found to be excessively difficult and insurance is more expensive.
“We are playing with hands tied behind our back,” Zachs said. “But we don”™t complain about it, we just sort of keep our head down and focus on working.”
Although Connecticut law allows for the use and possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana by adults aged 21 and older, recreational sales in the state have not yet commenced, thus preventing Fine Fettle”™s Connecticut locations from converting to a hybrid model as utilized by the Massachusetts locations, which sell marijuana both for medicinal and recreational or adult use.
Presently, the company has put in the necessary preliminary work such as submitting all required documentation and taking care of conversion fees. Its facilities are zoned and ready when sales are finally allowed, which Zachs believed will happen by the end of 2022 or beginning of 2023. When it does, Zachs said, “I think the industry as a whole in just the first year will probably bring 500 to 1,000 additional jobs to the state.”
