Recreational cannabis sales ushers in a new era in Connecticut retailing

The morning of Jan. 10 saw camera crews and reporters descend upon Research Drive in Stamford for what promised to be the hottest retail story of the year: Fine Fettle Dispensary, which had opened its doors to medical use several years earlier, was about to conduct its first sales of recreational cannabis in Connecticut.

Some of the news crews came from New York, arriving before most of the customers to set up their equipment and prep for broadcast. Truck drivers passing by called out, wondering why news vans were parked on the narrow shoulder, but the technicians were too busy to answer.

Ben Zachs, the chief operating officer for Fine Fettle Dispensary, hurried from room to room, fielding calls, meeting with bankers bearing news and congratulations, and ensuring that the historic day went off without a hitch. His business partners were overseeing the Fine Fettle locations in Willimantic and Newington, opening their doors to recreational customers for the first time as well.

Inside, 40 employees were preparing for the big day. There would be no walk-ins on the first day, all purchases were made online ahead of time along with a pickup window, but the volume was high enough and enthusiasm great enough that a line formed before the 10 a.m. start of sales. Some of the employees spent the previous night preparing a flood of orders that came in ahead of the first day.

Johnathan Pool, a “bud tender,” was on door duty. Instead of standing behind the counter he would spend the day checking that everybody in line had a valid preorder and identification.

“We’re expecting a pretty big crowd,” Pool said as he warmed up indoors before returning to his post next to the space heater by the entrance near the table of swag for day one customers. “Anywhere up to a thousand people today, and we’re going to be open from 10 to 7.”

“I actually just started here,” Pool admitted, noting that he had joined the team only the previous week along with others hired for the anticipated adult-use rush. However, he felt well qualified for the role.

“I’ve used marijuana pretty much my whole life, so I have some background in this,” he said with a grin, adding that he was surprised to find himself leveraging that experience so effectively. “If you asked me five years ago if I was going to be working at a dispensary in Connecticut, especially Fairfield County, I would look at you like you were crazy, with seven heads.”

“This is the culmination of my life’s work,” concurred Anthony Alomeda, a dispensary technician working the counter. “This is the most important day for me, my family, my friends, and the culture of cannabis users through the world really, going back 100 years to the start of prohibition.”

Alomeda was also emotionally invested in the historic moment, stating, “I’m born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, and unfortunately, I’ve had to watch slowly over the course of my life as the cannabis prohibition really affected the community in adverse ways. We’re looking to see the culture of this plant and the usage of its product move forward and release ourselves from some of that stigma. It’s going to take hard work, but that’s why we’re here.”

As the first official sale drew closer, the Fine Fettle staff gathered outside for a ribbon cutting in front of the cameras of television and newspaper reporters and the phones of a few friends. The employees filed out to stand in front of a banner with Loren Nadres, Stamford’s director of economic development, while Zachs took the novelty scissors in hand to clip the ribbon.

“This is a monumental day for Connecticut,” Zachs projected as he brandished the scissors. “But I actually think the bigger day happened last week when the governor expunged 44,000, small cannabis drug arrests.”

As he clipped the ribbon, Zachs highlighted the economic impact of the sales. The Stamford location had expanded its staff to 50 full-time employees, all from the area, and would be providing substantial tax revenue.

After a smattering of applause, the employees snapped celebratory selfies until somebody called out that the time had arrived, and the Fine Fettle crew rushed to their assigned positions as the first three customers were let into the store.

Dave Novak, a Fairfield man who works at CNN and said he was also one of the first to purchase alcohol on a Sunday when state laws changed, said history is what drew him to be in line.

“I don’t do it a lot, but I wanted to be one of the first,” he happily stated.

As the line filled in, bud tender Poole checked IDs and distributed the complimentary goodies: a canvass tote bag, lighter, shirt and fresh doughnuts.

Once inside, the customers were ushered into the store section. They had to pass through the waiting room, where those seeking medical consultations for higher doses would continue to do much of their business.

Aidan Coiman, the dispensary technician who handled Novak’s historic purchase, had a wide smile when asked for his thoughts about the day’s defining moment.

“It feels amazing,” Coiman said. “It’s a great step forward for our society and it’s bigger than just me making the first sale. It’s a big thing for people who served time for weed, people who smoked weed incognito for years and can now be open about it. It’s a big step forward for everyone, including myself ”” I’m definitely going to celebrate tonight.”

“I grew up as one of those most kids that we grew up around D.A.R.E. and was always taught to stay away from drugs,” Coiman continued after a moment’s reflection. “Cannabis has always seemed like one of those drugs that was kind of like an outlier, it seemed to help people more than I seen it hurt people.”

With the first sales done, things moved briskly as the bud tenders and technicians at eight registers processed orders smoothly and efficiently. A ninth register served the medical patients appearing less phased by the experience.

“I love that you guys are here, but you can’t block my exit,” Mari Baxter said to the journalists and camera operators who milled around by the one-way door while debating whether they needed more footage. Baxter, the general manager of the Stamford Fine Fettle location, is a pharmacist by trade. She started at the store in 2022 as an assistant manager when the location opened.

Since then, she has overseen a major expansion.

“We have grown our operation from 10 employees to 50 plus employees in less than 30 days, and everybody has worked so hard to get here, we’re really proud of it,” she said, but noted that “the biggest challenge is that the industry is so new. It’s never been done before in Connecticut. Obviously, we have the expertise from the states that have gone before us, but every state kind of operates in their own way. So, we’re doing our best to prepare and guess, but really we’re just rolling with the punches and being ready to pivot, make mistakes and learn from them.”

As noon drew closer, the sudden rush of customers became a steady stream, and Zachs found himself free for a moment from VIPs and phone calls. The day was going great in his opinion.

“We had over 500 preorders last night so we were up late so that today could go smoothly,” he said, still energized by the moment. “We know that historically there have been huge lines outside of these facilities, so we wanted to be efficient, to prove to the town and everybody that we know what we’re doing and to change the views of Cannabis, because there’s such a stigma.”

Zachs took a roundabout route towards history. He taught seventh graders in Philadelphia before joining the capital investment firm Bridgewater Associates.

“More than anything I’m proud of the team we’ve built and the culture we’ve built,” he said. “That’s really what it’s about.”