Cannabis dispensary trying to open on Millbrook Street, finally
Photo | Grant Welker
The former auto body shop on Millbrook St. could become the city's newest pot retailer.
Another new cannabis dispensary wants to open at 56 Millbrook St. in Worcester. The owners of the building, Joseph Kachuroi and Patrick Murphy, have begun applying for the necessary permit.
Harvest Health & Recreation Inc., had planned to open a dispensary at the location – and even had a sign installed – but never did because Trulieve Cannabis Corp. acquired Harvest in October 2021 and the plans had to be abandoned because it would have given Trulieve more than the three legally allowed adult-use dispensaries in Massachusetts. Trulieve already operated dispensaries in Framingham, Northampton, and another one in Worcester.
Kachuroi and Murphy created Cannabis of Worcester LLC as the name of their business but have not decided on a name for the retail storefront they hope to open. The building was built out and prepared in anticipation of opening a new dispensary, so it is ready to open once all of the permits are transferred to Cannabis of Worcester. Harvest had obtained a license from the Cannabis Control Commission in May 2020 before the Trulieve acquisition, and the license expired in June.
Joshua Lee Smith, a partner at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey who is representing Kachuroi and Murphy, said the previous permit approval is helping with the legal workings of getting the operation permitted to open, and the hope is to have all the permits settled so Murphy and Kachuroi can begin working with vendors and supplies as well as hiring employees to open later by early next year. The plan is to hire 12 to 18 employees.
According to a Worcester Planning Board application from June, Murphy and Kachuroi own the building on Millbrook St. Murphy owns and operates multiple cannabis establishments in North Dakota. Kachuroi worked for Harvest and was in charge of site selection and operations and helped set up the Millbrook location before the sale to Trulieve.
On Oct. 1, 2021, Trulieve Cannabis Corp. announced it acquired Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. According to a press release from when the acquisition was finalized, the purchase made Trulieve the largest U.S. combined retail and cultivation cannabis operator in the United States, which included 149 dispensaries in 11 states with three regional hubs.
A Trulieve employee died at its Holyoke cultivation facility on Jan. 7, according to an Occupational Health and Safety Administration inspection report. The employee was filling pre-rolls and grinding flowers for the rolls and was unable to breathe, dying due to the hazards of ground cannabis dust, according to the report.
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