Family-owned cannabis shop opens doors in Brimfield

May 16, 2022 | Lauren LeBel
llebel@thereminder.com

Pioneer Cannabis Co., a family-owned and run operation, offically opened their doors at 275 Sturbridge Rd. in Brimfield.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

BRIMFIELD – Pioneer Cannabis Co., a family owned and run operation, has officially opened their doors at 275 Sturbridge Rd. in Brimfield.

Maura Doyle, CEO, founded this business with her father, Chris Kenny.

Doyle, who is a Connecticut resident, said when they began searching for a place to open a shop, cannabis was not legalized in CT. This led them to look for a town in Massachusetts that was relatively close to the line.

Not only did Doyle’s family find the space in Brimfield to bring their business to fruition, but they built the dispensary from the ground up. “My dad ran the entire year-long project, I did the painting, my husband did the floors and my mom picked out all the fixtures,” she said. Doyle described this project as a “true labor of love – an exhausting one.”

When constructing and designing the building, Doyle said they wanted their dispensary to be different from others. “We wanted ours to be homey and comfortable [for customers],” she said. “We want [our customers] to hang out with us.” She noted that they always have country music playing.

On May 6, the building finally opened for business. Doyle said, “business was good” and “traffic was steady” throughout the opening weekend. “[We had] a line out the door,” she added.

Doyle explained that they do not have any cultivation. They receive their products from other cultivators.

As the cannabis industry continues to grow, Pioneer Cannabis Co. is up against several competitors. However, Doyle believes the store itself and the people are what sets them apart from others. “[Our employees] are all friendly,” she said. They currently have a staff of 12 employees, or “budtenders,” said Doyle, all of which live locally.

Doyle went on to say that some of their customers have never stepped foot in a dispensary before. “It should be a fun experience,” she said.

Similarly, prior to opening this dispensary, Doyle had no experience in the industry, although she does have her MBA. “I’ve been in a lot of industries, but something about a new industry is super exciting,” said Doyle. “It’s uncharted territory.”

Although she said it can be intimidating, “at the end of the day, it’s a business.”
Doyle often reminds herself that every other “expert” in this industry only has about six years’ experience, as legal cannabis is still relatively new. She said that a part of the name [Pioneer] comes from the “first time doing [this].” For Doyle’s family, the cannabis world is also new.

Now that Pioneer Cannabis Co. is open, Doyle is looking forward to meeting people in town. She said they tailor the menu to everyone and if they do not have a product in stock, they will order it for a customer to have within the week. “We want to be [like a] high end package store … we can get a product [if a customer wants it],” she said. “Customer service is super important to us.”

Pioneer Cannabis Co. is dog friendly and offers CBD treats for four-legged friends.
The dispensary is open daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

To learn more about Pioneer Cannabis Co., visit https://www.pioneercannabiscompany.com/.

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