Photo | Eric Casey
Wonderland Cannabis Co. was co-founded by Carol St. Onge, a retired special education teacher in Clinton, and Michael St. Onge, Carol’s husband and a retired Hewlett-Packard tech worker.
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St. Onge family opens ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’-themed cannabis dispensary in Millbury
Photo | Eric Casey
Wonderland Cannabis Co. in Millbury
After years of working toward opening its doors, Millbury-based cannabis dispensary Wonderland Cannabis Co. is now open, as the family behind the business hopes the store will offer consumers an alternative to corporate-owned cannabis companies.
The business, located at 11 McCracken Road, was co-founded by Carol St. Onge, a retired special education teacher in Clinton, and Michael St. Onge, Carol’s husband and a retired Hewlett-Packard tech worker.
Wonderland held its grand opening on Sept. 14, the culmination of over four years spent developing a business plan, renovating its leased building, and trying to navigate the myriad of approvals needed at the state and local level to open a cannabis business.
Looking back at all the roadblocks the company encountered, which included challenges with the Millbury Planning Board and months of paying for rent and employees while awaiting final state approval to open, there were moments of doubt, said Carol St. Onge.
“There were times where we threw up our hands and said, ‘Maybe this isn't a good idea,’” she said. “We've had our issues, but we had our grand opening, and people came. We love to see their first reactions when they walk in.”
Those first reactions are caused by Wonderland’s decor. Cannabis companies backed by big business aim for a dispensary design giving off the vibes of an Apple Store, but Wonderland opted for a more whimsical approach, with a store aesthetic inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
Puffy clouds hang from the ceiling, blending in with the store’s spray-foam ceiling, as a giant mural of The Hatter from Carroll’s classic novel graces the wall. Carol and Michael’s adult children both work for the company, and turning the location from a former auto garage into a modern dispensary was a team effort.
“My son and his wife spent their first anniversary putting the floor down. We spent many a nights painting, building point-of-sale stations, and putting up the monitors,” said Carol St. Onge. “Even our employees that aren't members of our family are now members of our family, because no matter what we ask them, they're right there to do whatever it takes to make this successful.”
The St. Onge’s poured their life savings into opening their business, joking their children were going to have to work for their inheritance. They are hoping their wager on consumer’s appreciation for being able to shop local will eventually pay dividends, although they are aware of the challenges facing the cannabis industry in Massachusetts, where companies are closing and facing lawsuits over unpaid bills as falling prices and increasing competition are putting a squeeze on industry player.
“The way it is in the state now is basically the rules are set up so businesses can barely sustain themselves,” said Michael St. Onge. “There’s no cannabis funding; you can't go and go to a banker or get a loan from a bank, so they force you to either be bought out by a big cannabis conglomerate or use your own money. That's how we ended up using our own money. We don't want to be a big business. We like being mom and pop, and we love our employees.”
Photo | Eric Casey
The unused portion of the building gives a view of what the building looked like prior to their renovations, according to co-founder Michael St. Onge.
Many of the products on the wholesale market in Massachusetts are produced by large companies, but Wonderland and its nine employees have sought to find space on the menu for cannabis cultivated by small, locally owned growers.
Located at the bottom of the hill which is the site of The Shops at Blackstone Valley, a large shopping plaza, Carol and Michael are hopeful their reasonable product pricing will allow them to sustain the momentum created by the grand opening.
“It's just the most amazing space and our staff, we can't say enough about how dedicated our staff is and how the customers keep coming back,” said Carol. “They're coming back because our product is competitive.”
Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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