Article courtesy of the Abington News
September 20, 2021
Abington’s Title Town reputation now extends to one of its newest businesses.
Bud’s Goods and Provisions, the town’s first marijuana retailer, was named New England’s best cannabis business at the recent New England Cannabis Convention.
Bud’s founder and CEO Alex Mazin said he’s “honored” by the award and feels the company can be even better.
“I love this win and I’ll take it and appreciate it a little bit but then it’s back to reality,” he said. “We have so much to prove as a company and so many things we can do better.”
Mazin opened Bud’s in Abington this past May, and opened his Worcester shop last October. A Watertown location is scheduled to open early next year.
More than 6,000 cannabis aficionados cast votes across a number of categories in the lead up to this month’s NECANN conference in Boston, which is billed as the region’s largest cannabis industry gathering. Bud’s was one of eight companies nominated as “Best NE Cannabis Company” and received 1,000 more votes than the runner-up, according to Mazin.
The 34-year-old Worcester native said he believes customers are responding to his strategy of create stores with a specific “modern Americana-style” that reflects its core New England blue-collar customer base.
“People who have experienced what we created are local fans,” Mazin said. “We’re creating an authentic brand that’s connecting to the cannabis community, the consumers.”
The opening of the Abington store didn’t create traffic tieups, but Mazin said business is growing every month and that the shop is at least covering its costs.
“Slow and steady is the pace we’re moving at and were very happy with it,” he said. “We’re understanding our procedures very well. The operation has been running very smoothly.”
A second adult-use cannabis retail shop, Green Harbor Dispensaries, has received town permits, but not yet started construction at its 1410 Bedford Street location. The Abington Planning Board is considering a request by a third company to operate a retail, cultivation, and manufacturing operation at 1437 Bedford Street.
The town will receive 3 percent of all cannabis sales to mitigate any expenses related to regulating the businesses. It will also collect a 3 percent sales tax in all wholesale and retail purchases.
