SARATOGA SPRINGS — A temporary special use permit application for Saratoga Cannabis Co., what could be Saratoga Springs’ first licensed recreational cannabis dispensary, was approved by the City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board at their meeting on Thursday, Sep. 7.
The temporary permit comes with several conditions from the Planning Board, including a queuing and striping plan for pedestrian safety. The temporary permit will be issued for a period of 12 months, the Planning Board said, at which point the company’s ownership group, consisting of Jody Cracco, Brittany Cracco, and Marcy Leventhal, will have to re-apply for a permanent special use permit.
Plans for the dispensary, which will be located in the West Hill Plaza on West Ave, were initially filed under the name Reverie Dispensary, but the group recently changed the name to Saratoga Cannabis Co., said Brittany Cracco. The Cracco family also owns and operates Dairy Haus and Doggy Playcare, both located in Wilton.
Plans presented to the board at the Sep. 7 meeting detailed several sales methods in addition to standard physical sales, including a digital queuing system that will use an app allowing customers to wait in their vehicles and receive a notification when their order can be picked up, according to the filed plans.
The dispensary plans to operate from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the Craccos said.
Jody Cracco said the 12-month temporary permit will allow the group to observe what business looks like at the dispensary during all four seasons.
“I’m glad they gave us the 12 months too, because we want to know what every season looks like,” said Jody Cracco. “That is the reason why we have the team that we have. We have the experience on our team. They’ve been here before, in many states, many times.”
The Cracco’s partner, Marcy Leventhal, has been in the cannabis industry for over 20 years, and has worked in the field across 22 different states, she told Saratoga Today in July.
Brittany Cracco said the group is “grateful” to receive the approval from the City.
“The town wants what’s best, and they want to be safe and cover all their bases, and that’s what we want to do too,” Brittany Cracco said. “This is a new use coming. It’s a new thing altogether that, like they said in there, nobody really knows what it looks like, and compliance is really big with us. … So the fact that they were really open-minded in allowing this, we’re grateful.”
But while they have received Planning Board approval, the group said they are still unsure when they will be able to open due to uncertainties surrounding a lawsuit filed against the State. According to a CBS News report, the State is currently blocked from processing licenses as a result of the suit, but can issue exemptions to applicants that meet the qualifications.
Each license will be re-examined on a “case-by-case basis,” said Jody Cracco.
“Basically as to how far along in the process that you are,” Brittany Cracco added. “So they will give us the go-ahead to keep going.”
The ownership group stated their goal is to be prepared to open “as soon as possible.”
“We aren’t going to linger, let’s just put it that way,” Jody Cracco said. “A number of things will take place while we are waiting, and that is getting everything in place so that when we get the go-ahead, everything then starts moving as quickly as possible.”
