Restaurateur approved to open dispensary
Beacon restaurateur Kamel Jamal has won the city’s second license to sell recreational marijuana, whose sales are increasing as more retailers open.
Jamal, who owns the Beacon Bread Company and Ziatun, was one of 101 applicants approved by the state’s Cannabis Control Board on Thursday (April 11) to grow, process and distribute marijuana, and to sell buds and cannabis products at retail locations.
He applied as 463 Station Inc. a reference to the former police station he owns at 463 Main St. Last fall, he hosted a state-approved “showcase” there, a program that gave farmers and processors places to sell buds and edibles while awaiting the opening of more dispensaries.
Jamal declined to discuss his plans, saying he wants to “focus on our buildout and process.” In September, when asked about his application for a license, he said it was essential to have legalized dispensaries selling products from state-approved growers. “If money can be counterfeited, they can also counterfeit cannabis packaging,” he said.
The Cannabis Control Board awarded Beacon’s first cannabis license in February to Aaron Sanders and Skyla Schreter, who own LotusWorks at 261 Main St. Their microbusiness permit allows the couple to grow cannabis, process the trimmings into distillates and rosins, and sell buds, extracts and edibles.
LotusWorks plans to plant its first crop in the spring of 2025. In the meantime, the couple said it will source buds, rosins and distillates, as well as joints and edibles such as gummies, from other farms and processors.
They will launch the business at The Yard in Beacon on April 20, an annual, unofficial holiday in cannabis culture. The event, from 2 to 9 p.m., will include complimentary joints, artwork, live music and yoga.
Grant McCabe, who owns The Leaf, a Main Street shop that sells cannabidiol and hemp products, has also applied for a license. Another company, Pleasant View Harvest in Brewster, has applied for a microbusiness license to sell products from 137 Main St. in Cold Spring.
Overall, the Cannabis Control Board on Thursday approved licenses for 35 dispensaries, 25 growers, 22 microbusinesses, 11 distributors and eight processors.
High Moon LLC, a company based in Carmel, was among the recipients of a microbusiness license. That typically allows an applicant to grow, process and sell cannabis products at retail, but High Moon’s license does not include a retail component.
The board also approved a provisional retail dispensary license for Serenity Greens LLC, based in Newburgh.
Sales from the state’s 103 operating retail dispensaries have totaled $102 million since Jan. 1, said John Kagla, director of policy for the Office of Cannabis Management.
Weekly sales exceeded $9 million for the first time in March and are on pace to exceed $10 million this month, he said. Total sales should exceed last year’s $160 million by June.
