LANESBOROUGH, Mass. - After three years of work, Lanesborough’s first recreational marijuana store, Liberty Market, is finally ready to open.
“It’s just surreal,” said chief operating officer, Ann Marie Belair. “There’s so much that you go through to get to here.”
The grand opening is set for Friday at noon. Despite establishing the company in 2018, the wait for state and local permits and a change of address delayed their opening process.
“We purchased this property, and had to do a large amount of demolition and renovation on this entire space,” said Belair. “It’s a 16,000 square foot building, so it was a big undertaking.”
Lanesborough is a small town, with a population of about 3,000 people. Still, Belair is optimistic they’ll be able to bring in enough business from nearby attractions like Mt. Greylock and Jiminey Peak, and hopes they’ll be a good fit for the town.
“We love the small town feel, that goes with our whole vibe,” said Belair. “Small town, small business, mom and pop. This building was owned by a generational family owner as a Lanesborough supermarket, so it just kind of feels like an appropriate next step.”
Belair also hopes the bigger space will help people feel comfortable and maintain social distancing while shopping in person. She also plans to use the space to bring in vendors, and showcase products from local entrepreneurs.
“They don’t have time to advertise on social media and probably would never get to a place where they have a brick-and-mortar opportunity to display their stuff,” said Belair. “So I was trying to give everyone, as we’re growing and hopefully succeeding, a place to try to flourish their business a little bit as well.”