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10 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J a n u a r y 2 0 2 3 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo R ay Pantalena and his New Haven-based business, Affinity Health & Wellness, have spent months getting ready for the anticipated influx of customers who want to buy recreational marijuana. Licensed hybrid retailers may begin selling cannabis products to all adults ages 21 and up starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10. "At 10 o'clock in the morning, we are ready," Pantalena said. "We are super-excited for the program to finally start." Affinity is one of just a few retailers in Greater New Haven, and nine state- wide, that will be the first companies to serve recreational marijuana customers this month. However, more dispensa- ries will debut throughout the year as the industry finally gets off the ground. What's less clear is how many retail- ers and other types of cannabis busi- nesses will call the Elm City, or Greater New Haven, home. Finding real estate remains a key challenge for many cannabis entrepre- neurs, experts said. More space Affinity opened in the summer of 2019, when it began selling medical marijuana out of its storefront at 1351 Whalley Ave. e New Haven City Plan Commis- sion in December approved a special permit allowing the business to also serve the adult-use market. In order to sell recreational marijua- na too, Pantalena said Affinity's space needed renovations. Its retail location has been remodeled in recent months to increase its check-in and registration area from two windows to five; two will be set aside for medical customers, so they aren't crowded out by recreational users. e checkout area now has seven stations, up from three, to help accom- modate more customers. Staffing is up too. e business is hiring 20 new workers, mostly full time, with all slated to be in place and fully trained for the Jan. 10 recreational launch. e medical side continues to have full inventory. For the adult-use side, customers can expect to be able to buy select flowers, pre-rolls, edibles and vapes, according to Pantalena. Customers shouldn't expect a traditional store atmosphere. ere won't be aisles of prod- ucts to browse and then bring to the checkout. "ere won't be any product or jars out — it won't be like a bakery where you can see the cookies in jars," Pantale- na said, with a chuckle. e recreational products at Affinity will be in sealed packages. Recreational customers should pre-order online, and then their pur- chases will be ready for pickup. e business is already taking pre-or- ders, but Pantalena said there may be recreation- al customers who just show up. Expansion ahead Affinity plans to ex- pand beyond its current spot, with new satellite locations to open in 2023, Pantalena said. He declined to provide further details on those expansion plans, but new locations will be spread throughout the state, to be closer to more potential customers. Pantalena anticipates the recreational marijuana industry will grow quickly in Connecticut. "It is going to explode," Pantalena said. "We'll see more retail as people go through zoning, throughout 2023. You'll start to see it all over the state." Interest in the market is high state- wide. Kristina Diamond, communications and legislative program manager with the Social Equity Council (SEC), said there were 23,488 social equity applica- tions received in the first round of the adult-use licensing lottery. CohnReznick, a third-party reviewer hired by the SEC, reviewed 158 applica- tions. e SEC approved 87 applications as of mid-December, Diamond said. Ready to Launch Cannabis companies gear up for January start of recreational marijuana sales as challenges remain PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Gabbi Albert, general manager at Affinity Health & Wellness in New Haven, with a CTPharma display tool used to show customers about the range of available cannabis-related products. Ray Pantalena, pharmacist and principal of Affinity Health & Wellness in New Haven. PHOTO | MICHELLE TUCCITTO SULLO

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