NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — How would you like your prime rib with cannabis-infused au jus?
It’s a question Heather Anello hopes to be asking if her vision — a cannabis cafe called Forks and Friends — becomes a reality.
“Together we can pioneer this new industry and continue to put North Adams on the map,” Anello and her company behind the idea, Spencer House LLC, wrote in a recent message to the city’s Planning Board, outlining their intentions for the business.
The cafe would be located in the current American Legion building on American Legion Drive and would also serve cannabis-infused drinks.
Currently, there are no social consumption sites like cannabis cafes open in Massachusetts. However, a pilot program appears to be on the horizon.
State law allows the Cannabis Control Commission to license consumption sites but a technical issue in the law stopped them from being implemented, according to a commission spokesperson.
That was fixed by legislation signed into law this summer that gives municipalities the ability to allow social consumption licenses through a local election or ordinance, and now a pilot program is in the works, according to a spokesperson.
Anello, CEO and the majority owner of Spencer House LLC, is well aware of the regulatory wrinkles yet to be ironed out and wants to work with the city to make it a reality. “We are trying to get ahead of the game,” she said.
What kind of city rules would need to be put in place to move a cannabis cafe forward are not clear, said Planning Board Chair Brian Miksic.
“I think there’s a lot of research we’re going to have to do into the laws specific to cannabis use on-premises,” he said. “For us it’s a gray area. It doesn’t even show up specifically in our zoning bylaws.”
Mayor Jennifer Macksey said her administration will be looking into it. “We are still exploring what social consumption means,” she said. “We are looking for more guidance as it rolls out.”
Already, Spencer House LLC has plans to open a dispensary at the American Legion site, and that would be a separate space and separate business under her LLC, Anello said. The company signed a Community Host Agreement with the city in early 2021 and got a special permit from the Planning Board soon after.
At the time, two dispensaries were already approved — Clear Sky Cannabis and Sparkboro Wellness — and the city has an ordinance that caps the number of dispensaries at 20 percent of the number of liquor stores, which at the time when Spencer House LLC was approved, meant two dispensaries.
Now with only one of the approved dispensaries open, it’s not clear how the cap will work. Macksey said she is looking at potential ordinance changes to accommodate at least Sparkboro and Spencer House, which both have Host Community Agreements with the city signed before her term began in January.
Already, Anello opened Canna Corner in Becket, a boutique marijuana dispensary, and owns the neighboring Route 8 Pub and Becket Liquors. “We sell fun for a living,” she said.
Anello, a Becket native and Washington resident, previously worked in the restaurant and catering industry. “I feel as if I’m a trusted member of the community,” she said.
Under her plan in North Adams, her company would lease the American Legion building and renovate it. There would still be a space for the American Legion in the renovated building, she said. Mitchell Keil, commander of the post, was not immediately available to comment.
At Forks and Friends, Anello sees a menu of beverages and American cuisine, like chicken and fish, with the option for it to be cannabis infused. “This is going to be a high-end classy dinning experience for people looking to have a group setting,” she said. “I would say the average price per person will be $50 to $100 per plate, depending on what they get.”
There would be a slew of rules, of course. Nothing could be taken to-go and reservations would be required. No alcohol would be served, there would be a strict limit of how much cannabis a person can consume, and staff would be specially trained.
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