BRUNSWICK — A small, husband and wife-run retail marijuana shop and manufacturing facility is expected to open on Church Road this winter, following planning board approval Tuesday.
The store, located in the Brunswick Cushion’s former location at 132 Church Road, will be Brunswick’s second recreational marijuana storefront. Brunswick Cushion has since relocated.
Hannah King, an attorney with Drummond Woodsum representing LNI LLC, said owners Lisa and Ian Finlayson-Brown hope to have the upstairs wholesale edibles manufacturing space open and operating in mid-January, with the first-floor retail space following suit sometime in February. A name for the business has not yet been announced.
Lisa and Ian Finlayson-Brown grew up in Cumberland and Yarmouth, respectively and are the quintessential example of a young couple moving back to Maine after pursuing other personal and professional goals in other parts of the country, King said.
“We’re excited that cannabis has created this opportunity for people to come back and pursue business opportunities,” she said.
“Brunswick feels like home and they are just excited to pursue this opportunity in a place where they feel very comfortable,” she added Wednesday. The couple has experience in California’s retail marijuana scene and can bring that knowledge to what is, in Maine, an “emergent market,” she added.
The small, family-run store will be between 500 and 700 square feet, and along with various flower and concentrated products, will sell some of the “high-quality edibles” manufactured in their upstairs location. There will be vegan, gluten-free and Keto options.
“In Maine, we pride ourselves on small-batch, high-quality artisanal products and that’s what they plan on doing,” King said.
Before opening, the Finlayson-Brown’s need to make a few building changes, including a 6-foot privacy fence, a parking lot expansion from six spaces to nine, and the replacement of a garage door with a double-door entrance. Once those are complete they can apply for a town license.
Brunswick’s first retail marijuana storefront was approved in October after a zoning rewrite to correct an error in the ordinance that made approval essentially impossible.
The store, whose name has not been announced but which is filed under GJoris LLC, is slated for 4 Business Parkway, within the Brunswick Industrial Park.
GJoris LLC is intended to be a larger venture than LNI LLC, with a “destination retail feel” and 64 parking spaces.
Project Manager Joseph Marden said previously that the location is expected to be a regional draw, with more out of town customers than local ones.
Fran Smith, Brunswick town clerk, said Wednesday afternoon that a license application had not yet been filed with the town. Matt Panfil, director of planning and development, said there have not been any other applications for retail marijuana.
Also within the industrial park is Elevated Remedies of Brunswick, Brunswick’s second medical marijuana storefront, opened just up the road at 14 Industrial Parkway in summer 2019.
This story has been updated to reflect that Brunswick Cushion has moved to a new location.
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