Unusual Friday Hearing Intros Hennep To Town

Above, a lone resident asks questions of marijuana entrepreneur Andrew Koudijs.

Friday evening at 5 pm, the empty parking lots and dimmed lights of the Senior Center belied the fact that inside, there was a hearing, technically 'a community outreach meeting' for Hennep Inc.’s proposed Marijuana Establishment  at 164 Grove Street, Franklin, MA 02038.

The event was a state mandated opportunity for community members to ask questions and receive answers from representatives of Hennep Inc.

The only problem was, no one, or at least almost no one came. Actually in the first 30 minutes of the hearing, just one resident came. And she had lots of questions which company CEO, Andrew Koudijs duly answered. Her first questions was,  why was the 5 pm Friday time slot was selected? The answer was "convenience" in order to meet various filing deadlines followed by an expression of surprise that the time might have been considered odd or inconvenient.

Briefly, Hennep began in Provincetown in 2021 as a cannabis retailer. It's expansion to Franklin aims to include a 60,000 square foot  'grow' facility (under construction at 160 Grove) and just past another cannabis establishment ( NETA - Recreational & Medical Marijuana Dispensary at 162 Grove) plans to open its own cannabis retail establishment at 164 Grove Street. The cultivation facility is aiming for an opening in January of 2024.

It's is a concept Koudijs likens to "farm-to-table" restaurants, where 'the fresthest buds' will be on sale.

In addition to NETA, the town also currently hosts Botera, a cannabis retailer on West Central St.