Manchester has given preliminary approval for a drive-thru cannabis dispensary to go into a former Starbucks location on Spencer Street.
A drive-thru cannabis dispensary may be coming to Manchester. The town’s planning and zoning committee approved the drive-thru, which Ayr Wellness hopes to open close to the East Hartford town line.
The building where the drive-thru is being proposed is a former Starbucks on Spencer Street.
Manchester already has two dispensaries, Fine Fettle and Cura Leaf. What differentiates the Ayr Wellness operation from the others is the drive-thru, which is among the first in the state. The idea has been met with mixed reaction.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think this just gives them more access,” Conni Levesque, of Bolton, said.
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“As long as people are being responsible, and don’t put my life, my kids, life or my family’s at risk, they’re free to do as they please,” Millee Jacob, of East Hartford, said.
Among the concerns some people have is the potential for using cannabis while operating a motor vehicle. Ayr Wellness officials say their security would be monitoring that.
“They go around constantly checking the perimeter to make sure that everything is safe and that nobody is consuming on site,” Ayr Wellness VP of Market Expansion Tenisha Victor said.
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Ayr officials say all drive-thru purchases must be pre-ordered, with a reservation time for pickup.
“If you want to make changes, you’ll have to go through the drive-thru and get into a parking spot and then go into the building,” Victor said.
Evaluating the concept, some people aren’t any more concerned with a drive thru than other forms of retail sales.
“If it’s going to be there, it’s going to be there. Whether they walk in or drive-through it’s the same product,” Karen Brown, of Bloomfield, said.
During Monday’s Manchester planning and zoning meeting, the site was approved with a 6-1 vote. All that’s necessary to move forward is receiving building permits.
