Overview:
Hometown Harvest, a new cannabis retailer in Athol, aims to provide quality products at affordable prices. The owners, who have connections with local cultivators and manufacturers, took 16 months to open due to the lengthy process of obtaining a cannabis license through the state. The store employs eight local people and sources its inventory from licensed businesses in Massachusetts.
ATHOL – The owners of Hometown Harvest, which just opened at 243 Main St., hope to utilize their area connections to provide a quality product at an affordable price.
On Saturday, April 11, Hometown Harvest opened, becoming the newest cannabis retailer in Athol. Co-owner Mike Grasso said he and two of the company’s other four partners – Mick Obolensy and Loren Forbes – decided to set up shop in Athol “after working previously with another local cannabis company that experienced a bunch of layoffs.”
“We got together and decided we wanted to start are own business. From the beginning, Loren, Nick and I have been working on trying to find the right place to do it and we reached out to the landlord at this building, and they were helpful and really willing to work with us” said Grasso. “Nick reached out to the town manager and the attorney for the town of Athol, and the town was also really helpful and very receptive.”
In March 2023, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission suspended the license of the previous occupant of the building, Elev8 Cannabis, citing 10 violations of regulations. The CCC also said the business presented an “immediate or serious threat to public health, safety or welfare.” The Selectboard suspended the host community agreements with Elev8 owner Olawaseun Adedeji in October of that year.
“We didn’t even consider that location until the late fall of 2024,” said Grasso. “We reached out to a local realtor and found out it was still vacant.”
Grasso explained it took 16 months to open following the signing of the host community agreement because of the process for approval by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
“Unfortunately, because Elev8 had been closed for so long, we weren’t able to purchase that license; we had to reapply for a cannabis license through the state,” he said. “That process can be pretty long and complicated. But actually, a year is pretty quick time frame to get that license done. We were able to do it in a year because we didn’t have to do a lot of renovations to the building. “
When it comes to Hometown Harvest’s inventory, said Grasso, “Everything, based on state regs, comes from licensed businesses in Massachusetts. Because we’ve been involved in the Massachusetts cannabis business since 2018, we personally know a lot of cultivators and manufacturers, so we have a lot connections with a lot of the businesses we’re getting our supplies from.”
Some of those businesses include 253 Farmacy in Turners Falls, Temple Hill, a product manufacturer based in Orange, and Paper Crane Cannabis in Hubbardston.
“We try to really carefully source good quality product that’s also affordable,” said Grasso. “We’re all cannabis users, the owners of this group, and we all really care about providing our customers with good products that are also a good value. That’s our goal here.”
Right now, Hometown Harvest employs eight people, according to Grasso.
“Everybody is local,” he said. “We do hope to hire another couple of people over the next year. We feel that, so far, with the first weekend under our belt, we’re able to handle all our shifts pretty well.”
Hometown Harvest is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.