Winooski Organics has high hopes to open cannabis dispensary this fall

Eddie Furci and Dillon Lovell opened Winooski Organics, a craft hemp market, in the former Waf’s Westside Deli. This fall, they hope to expand their business to include a cannabis dispensary. Photo courtesy of Winooski Organics.

Winooski Organics, a recently opened cannabis market, sells local hemp and CBD products. Come this fall, however, the business plans to be Winooski’s first recreational cannabis dispensary. 

“People look at [cannabis] like, you know, something that is sold by a drug dealer,” said Eddie Furci, who co-owns the new venture with longtime friend Dillon Lovell. “But the thing about having a dispensary is it knocks all those rumors out the door … Everything's going to be tested. There are more restrictions on cannabis going into your body than there is lettuce.”

Winooski Organics opened on May 1 inside the East Allen Street shop that once housed Waf’s Westside Deli. It is a passion project for Lovell and Furci, who want to expand from hemp and CBD to adult-use marijuana through the state’s upcoming legal pot market, created by legislators two years ago. 

The duo’s retail permit could be approved as soon as Oct. 1, at which time the physical space would accommodate a dispensary.

The business has been a natural partnership, the pair said. 

“Eddie and I, we grew up together,” said Lovell. “We actually consumed [cannabis] for the first time together, back when we were younger.”

Lovell and Furci opened Winooski Organics about two years after purchasing the property from former owner Wafic Khouri.

Since federal law prohibits the distribution and sale of marijuana, securing a bank loan for such projects is challenging. Khouri offered a loan himself so the pair could more easily finance the purchase.

“Waf’s great; we couldn’t have done this without him,” Lovell said. 

The hemp market — a 2022 Seven Daysies finalist for best CBD retail shop — has a farm-to-table vibe. Customers can find Vermont-made CBD-infused tinctures, personal care products, chocolates, drinks and more. 

CBD is an extract from the cannabis plant that has been legal for sale and use in Vermont since 2018; it doesn’t produce the high associated with marijuana, which has a higher concentration of the psychoactive compound, THC. 

It has been legal to sell CBD products made from Vermont hemp since 2018, but THC products have long been banned. 

That is changing this fall, however, under Act 164, passed in 2020. The act allows for the commercial sale of cannabis containing THC to adults over 21 in Vermont and sets up a way for the state to tax and regulate the substance. As part of the legal market, the City of Winooski will receive 1% of cannabis sales tax. 

Cultivators, manufacturers, testing laboratories, and retailers started applying for preliminary licenses in April this year. Lovell and Furci received approval for one and can now apply for a full retail license Sept. 1. The state is expected to start issuing licenses starting Oct. 1.

“I don’t know how long it will be after [October 1] when they approve, but we’ll be ready,” said Lovell. 

If the store’s dispensary permit is approved, Winooski Organics would only sell THC products produced in the state, a requirement by law. The company will not make its own products. 

“We are focused on retail,” Furci said. “A lot of people in this industry are focused on vertical integration, you know, growing what they sell, producing what they sell, to lower their costs and stuff like that. We're focused on small farmers, craft cultivators, producers, people making small batches. That’s where the quality is.”

Even if they could sell products made outside of the state, the co-owners said they wouldn’t be interested. 

“There’s tons of hemp products we could get from other states, but we don't,” said Furci. “Even if they're cheaper, we want to support the farmers in the state that are making good products.”

Furci said this model is part of their vision for the store. 

“Our vision for the store is to kind of be almost like a Vermont country store,” he said. “You come in, and there are just different brands, you see their branding and pictures about them and their family and farm, and you can learn about their products.”

Lovell believes this is also a core selling point for producers and cultivators to work with Winooski Organics. 

“Anything that's sold here will not be competing against us,” said Lovell. “Integrity is a big part of working with people around here to help fund the local economy because, essentially, it just all comes back.” 

“It's a new industry,” Furci said. “A lot of people coming into stores are just interested and don't know much and don't know what they need. We want to cultivate an experience where you can ask a lot of questions, or you can not ask any questions at all, and still be given a lot of information.”

A large poster near the store’s entrance outlines the benefits and uses of the cannabis plant’s naturally occurring compounds, known as cannabinoids. THC and CBD are the best known of these compounds. The former produces the famous high from consuming marijuana, while the latter is said to produce a milder, calming effect that helps with anxiety and depression.

Furci believes commercial sales and dispensaries will help break down the stigma associated with cannabis use. For cannabis to be sold commercially, it has to be tested for THC content, mold and pesticide use, among other things. 

“Everything gets tested multiple times throughout the supply chain,” Furci said. “And it has to be stored correctly. All those things are laid out in law — that makes the product safer than ever.”

In another effort to reduce the stigma, Winooski Organics is working with laboratories in the state to educate the public on how to consume cannabis safely. 

“We're putting together a pamphlet to give out to customers that want it,” Furci said. “[It] kind of teaches you how you should be consuming [cannabis], to take your time, to look out for this [hazardous] stuff.”

Safety, he said, is “why it's important to buy tested cannabis versus buying it off the street.”

The co-owners plan to enlist special staff members — “bud-tenders,” the two call them — to guide and educate customers while browsing products. 

Jeremy Collins, a neighbor to Winooski Organics, believes Lovell and Furci’s commitment to education and local producers makes Winooski Organics stand out from other cannabis stores in the area. 

“These guys have done a really good job of building their brand and showing how much they care about the community and about each individual person,” said Collins. “It’s really about education when it comes down to it, so I really respect them for that.”

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Winooski Organics is located at 165 East Allen Street. Store hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 3 pm.

Follow Winooski Organics on Instagram and visit their website. They are currently hiring and accepting applications.