A resident is seeking City of Worcester approval to open a firearm store and self-defense center.
The proposed center would be located at 269 Brooks St., according to an application submitted to the Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals by Worcester resident Michele Grenache. Grenache is the founder of the Pistol Sisters, a women’s group based at the Worcester Pistol & Rifle Club, according to the club’s website.
The purpose of the club is to create a safe and welcoming environment for women interested in firearm ownership or self-defense training and other related courses, including Stop the Bleed training, a course designed by the American College of Surgeons, according to her ZBA application.
The store will not include a firing range. The premises may be used for retail firearm and accessory sales and transfers, training classes and safety instruction, and gunsmithing, according to a lease attached to the ZBA application.
The property at 269 Brooks St. is owned by Michael McDermott of Worcester and contains a 5,000-square-foot commercial building. The site is used by Stingray Automotive repair, which would continue to operate at the site, with Grenache’s business taking up a small portion of the building.
Unlike some other municipalities in Central Massachusetts, Worcester does not have specific zoning regulations or overlay for firearm stores or ranges.
WBJ has reached out to Grenache for more information on the new business.
If approved, Grenache’s business would join several other firearm-focused businesses in Worcester, including The Gun Parlor at 170 Prescott St. and KR Brooks Auctions at 33 Pullman St. Worcester is home to nine federal licenses to deal, manufacture, or import firearms in the city, according to FFLs.com, a website listing federal firearms licensees.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
