Cleveland Circle bar Mary Ann’s could become a recreational marijuana shop
A proposal for a recreational marijuana shop in Brighton could transform Boston College-area dive bar Mary Ann’s into a cannabis retailer, with the possible sale of the building to new owners.
Happy Valley Ventures MA, Inc. has a contract to buy the bar from Greater Boston Bar Company LLC if it receives the permitting and zoning approvals to open the marijuana shop, Happy Valley Ventures founder Michael Reardon said.
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Happy Valley Ventures has several other marijuana facilities already under construction, including a medical dispensary in East Boston and two larger multiuse facilities in Gloucester and Newburyport.
Brighton residents and other community members will have an opportunity to discuss the proposal Monday at a 6 p.m. public meeting at the Brighton Elks Club.
Some have already expressed concerns.
Saeed Ofmani, a manager at Pino’s Pizza in Cleveland Circle, said about 20 percent of their business could be affected if a recreational marijuana shop opens there, based on the number of families with children who frequent the shop.
Many high school students go to Pino’s for a snack after school, Ofmani said, and he worries parents wouldn’t want to send their children there with a marijuana retailer nearby.
“My voice is representing the voice of the families, their concern about the children,’’ he said. “We are very, very concerned.’’
Ofmani plans to attend Monday’s meeting and hopes his voice will be heard.
“A lot of people don’t hear our voice. A small business, they don’t hear our voice,’’ he said.
Jack Dunn, a spokesman for Boston College, said the college is equally concerned about the proposal and has joined local business owners and residents to oppose it.
“We do not see a marijuana dispensary as being in the best interest of the community,’’ Dunn said.
Reardon said he hopes Monday’s meeting will be an opportunity to explain the company’s plans to the community, answer questions, and digest the concerns of residents.
Jeff Drago, partner of a zoning and permitting law firm that represents Happy Valley in its Boston locations, said the location would be ideal for a variety of reasons, including the close proximity to public transportation and availability of public meter parking. He added that Happy Valley will function well, mixed in with the other commercial businesses there.
Drago also said in many ways, the marijuana shop will be less of a disturbance to the community than a bar.
Its capacity will be greatly decreased — from 200 at Mary Ann’s to only 47 in the shop, Drago said, and the store will close at 9 p.m., instead of the early-morning closing hours of the bar.
“For us, we’re nothing but positive about what we intend to do here,’’ he said.
Mary Ann’s, located at 1937 Beacon St. in Cleveland Circle, has been owned by Greater Boston Bar Company LLC since last summer, when the investment group bought the bar for $1.5 million, along with a handful of other properties.
Julius Sokol, who is part of the investment group, said he could not discuss any details of the sale but said the property is not otherwise on the market, aside from its arrangement with Happy Valley Ventures.
In the meantime, the investment group plans to reopen Mary Ann’s as a bar in the next couple of weeks, after it was shut down for the last couple of months for renovations. Sokol said the bar will be the “same bar, same faces.’’
Mary Ann’s in Brighton.
