LYNN — After a long wait, the city’s newest recreational marijuana business, Olde World Remedies, has finally opened its doors on Western Avenue.
Plans for the shop began in 2016, so this has been a long time coming. The business originally intended to be a medical marijuana dispensary, but the owners would have had to buy a grow house, which was too expensive.
With the legalization of recreational marijuana, some of the barriers to entry were eliminated, allowing Olde World Remedies to finally open its doors.
Joel Rothenberg, the store’s general manager and one of the owners, said it was incredible to be able to hold the soft opening on Saturday. Rothenberg told The Item that as early as 9 a.m. there were people waiting in line.
“The process itself was very difficult to get here — a lot of hoops to run through, a lot of inspections,” he said, “but now being here I couldn’t feel any better.”
Rothenberg is also excited to be a part of the community in Lynn. He mentioned that people have been driving by and screaming congratulations. It’s something that he’s never experienced anywhere else.
“I grew up in Marblehead, and the community there I thought was really strong, but people don’t even know us (in Lynn) and they are rolling down their windows and congratulating us, which means they have been watching the whole process the whole time, which makes us feel really good. We are really looking forward to giving back to Lynn as well.”
Olde World Remedies hopes to give back to the community that has welcomed them so graciously. The owners have promised to help build a park in the community.
“I look forward to seeing the community change around us,” said Rothenberg. “Hopefully, there will be less illegal, black market sales, and then hopefully we get to see what the tax revenue does to this community around us.”
