Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 7, 2022 15 NEW IN TOWN. LEADERS IN LENDING. FREEDOM IS YOURS. freedom.coop We look forward to serving our neighbors at our first-ever location in Connecticut. Stop in and meet the team today. 151 Elm Street, Unit 214, Enfield Commercial Real Estate Loans | SBA and Term Loans | Business Lines of Credit Business Savings and Checking Accounts | Cash Management Services | Business Credit Cards Freedom Credit Union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Shares and deposits in excess of NCUA limits are fully insured by the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation (MSIC). Equal Housing Lender. NMLS #478769. than 500 stores across Connecticut and surrounding states, according to Ray, packaging and preparing prod- ucts in a rented space on Park Street in Hartford. The business sources its products from a nationwide network of tobacco farmers located as close as Connecti- cut and as far away as Kentucky. "We were just on a road trip knock- ing on doors in Virginia," Jeter said of looking for new suppliers. Connecticut law doesn't allow tobacco products to be sold in marijuana dispensaries, so Five Star Fronto and Ray's planned cannabis businesses won't intersect. That doesn't mean, however, that Five Star Fronto can't make hemp wraps or rolling papers in the future. Ray said the next step for the company is to create a strong sales team that can help put more product on store shelves. They currently have three employees. "Our goal is to find every avenue to expand our brand and build," Ray said. "With a strong sales team, we're unstoppable." Growing opportunity In July, Ray's business — FFD 149 LLC — was one of 16 com- panies selected to move forward with the licensing process to start a disproportionately impacted area cultivator operation. The license type is for people who live or lived in a U.S. census tract in Connecticut where at least 10% of residents have drug-related convic- tions, or that have an unemployment rate greater than 10%. It will allow Ray to open a large-scale marijuana grow operation of more than 15,000 square feet. No hiring has been done for the business, but Ray said Jeter will have an official or unofficial role in the operation. He's partnering with Fine Fet- tle, which currently operates three medical marijuana dispensaries in Connecticut, for the grow operation as well as the company's six new dispen- saries as part of Connecticut's equity joint venture licensing program. One of the new dispensaries, in Manchester, hopes to debut early next year as the state's market opens. Fine Fettle Chief Operating Officer Ben Zachs said the company is finalizing location plans for its other dispensaries, and has already identi- fied a spot for the cultivation facility. He said between local zoning regulations and lending challenges, finding business locations has been a challenge. "Finding real estate in Connecticut for any cannabis business is unbe- lievably difficult," Zachs said. "It's really hard right now, but we're super excited about our cultivation location and Manchester (dispensary). We've got a bunch of places we're negotiat- ing on and finalizing (letters of intent) for future locations." Zachs has said the company's intention has always been to work with equity joint venture partners they've known for decades, and Ray fits that standard. He said Ray has been a family friend going back to when Zachs was in middle and high school. Under the state's equity joint venture program, an existing medical cannabis company can partner with qualified social equity applicants to open new businesses without going through the lottery process. The social equity applicant must own at least 50% of the venture and have daily managerial responsibilities. "We think that being a local com- pany doing cannabis that the struc- ture of these equity joint ventures was built for us," Zachs said. "We can have an impact with people we really know and trust." Ray's connections across the state, business acumen and work ethic make him a good partner for their new network of dispensaries, Zachs said. Ray even helped Fine Fettle in an advisory capacity when the company entered the state's medical cannabis market, he said. The respect goes both ways. Ray said it was important for him to work with people he knows outside of business, and Fine Fettle's experi- ence in Connecticut will help the new grow facility and dispensary network be successful. "We're wavemakers — we're mak- ing waves that did not exist before. And we're doing it for as many people as we can," Ray said. "What we do requires not only talent, but hussle, focus and the willingness to work hard everyday at what you do." Kennard Ray rolls a joint in front of some upcoming shipments of Five Star Fronto packages. HBJ PHOTO | SKYLER FRAZER

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