New London welcomes first pot store with balloons, BBQ and bongs
Nov. 2—NEW LONDON — The city's first retail cannabis shop opened its doors Thursday morning to short lines that got longer as the day progressed.
At 9:30 a.m., a cadre of customer service "concierges" roamed the poured concrete floors of the Higher Collective store at 595 Bank St. with portable electronic menus in hand assisting browsers who presented ID cards.
At rear check-out areas, including one set aside for pre-orders, counter staff straightened decorative bongs and neatened counter displays near an electronic menu board listing flower, vape and pre-rolled offerings.
"We've been preparing the store for months," said General Manager Andrew Lucero as his staff decorated the store's parking lot for an afternoon grand opening ceremony set to include a BBQ food truck. "We had maybe a handful of customers here at 9 a.m. when we opened, which isn't surprising as we didn't really advertise."
Over the next few hours, customer traffic, in-person and online, stayed steady through the start of an afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by city officials and members of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.
The store is the third location opened in Connecticut by the Higher Collective group through a partnership with Curaleaf's Joint Venture, a national company, which operates a medical marijuana dispensary and adult-use cannabis sales outlet in Groton.
Higher Collective stores opened in Killingly and Willington in October, and a Hartford location is set to open later this month.
The New London store offers a variety of cannabis products, from flowers and edibles to pre-rolled packs and concentrates, all with varying levels of THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis.
A pack of sour black cherry gummies with 98 milligrams of THC sold for $32, while an eighth of an ounce of lemon skunk flower retailed for $48. As part of the grand opening event, the store offered customers 20% off their purchases and enrollment into a "founder's rate" discount program.
Mayor Michael Passero and state Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, praised Higher Collective representatives for their work in getting the store opened.
"This has been a long time coming, but it was worth it," Passero said, as bundles of balloons bobbed behind him in a chilly fall wind. "It's a wonderful addition to the neighborhood, and we're looking forward to the revenue."
Under state regulations, New London, like all cities and towns with cannabis retailers, hybrid retailers or micro-cultivators, receive revenue from a 3% municipal tax on cannabis sales.
Stonington resident Christine Pacheco, the store's floor supervisor, said all 20 store employees were on the clock for opening day. She showed off store shelves adorned with nautical sculptures and prints along with a community bulletin board featuring local restaurant menus.
"It's all hands on deck," Pacheco said. "We've got knowledgeable people here that can answer questions about our products. We want people to buy from a reputable, licensed store, to know where their product is coming from."
The Bank Street store is the fourth retail cannabis shop in the region behind those in Norwich, Uncasville and Groton.
Each Higher Collective outlet is independently owned with store owners able to draw on the experience of industry experts to best navigate state and local cannabis regulations, said Tori Garrett, owner of the New London shop.
Garrett, a 46-year-old Hartford resident, said she's worked customer service jobs most of her adult life. And even if the product is different, the core concepts of retail still apply.
"The foundation is always customer service and relationships," she said. "We want to be a huge part of this community, both financially and by helping with events."
