Derrick Gibbs and Carl Tirella Jr. are friends and business partners that are now just days away from making West Hartford’s first recreational cannabis retailer a reality.
Their store, Budr Cannabis, opens Monday, July 31. It is the first of five they intend to open in Connecticut.
They say they want to change how people look at cannabis, as the legal recreational use of it grows in this state and nationwide.
The shop, located at 1037 Boulevard on the West Hartford – Hartford line, is a joint venture with multistate operator Green Thumb Industries.
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It received approval as a social equity applicant because of Gibbs' relatives, who grew up in one of Hartford’s disproportionate impact areas.
Gibbs runs a home healthcare business and says he never thought about getting into the cannabis space, but learned about its benefits through clients and employees. He says he wants the experience at Budr to be high-end in look and feel to challenge those who remain opposed to the adult use recreational industry.
“You run across a lot of these, not in my backyard "NIMBY" folks that don't want it, but they may smoke it, you know, or they don't want it, but they grow it,” said Gibbs.
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Tirella says the stigma around cannabis is one they embrace.
"It gives us the opportunity to educate. We're really educating our, our staff and allowing them the knowledge to really be prepared for people that may push back on them because they work at a cannabis retailer," Tirella said.
They say they’ll also be supporting efforts in the community by helping those experiencing homelessness – along with youth groups – to meet state requirements of their social equity status -- and they say changing some perspectives too.
“Ten to 15 years from now, hopefully, we are really mainstream were looked at like any other commodity, and really just in a normal professional operation,” said Tirella.
Budr is holding a grand opening at the West Hartford store on Monday, July 31.
The store is set to employ close to 20 people in full and part-time roles.
By next summer, they say they’ll also have locations open Danbury and Westbrook, with two additional stores in the state after that.
