NORTHAMPTON – Balagan Cannabis, a boutique adult use dispensary on 235 Main St., officially opened its doors to the public after a soft opening on Oct. 14 and a grand opening on Oct. 16.

The downtown Northampton addition is owned and operated by five partners – native Northampton resident Rachael Workman, veteran cannabis retailer Adi Nagli, New York-based financer Itamar Alpert, Workman’s husband Raz Gal, and Gil Sasson, who runs operations at Café Balagan, the sister outfit next door at 214 Main St. Nagli also owns a boutique medical dispensary in Maine.

The dispensary, which is positioned as the only cannabis retailer on Main Street, is located inside of the space that used to be Sam’s Pizza, which closed in 2019 after 12 years of service in Northampton. Originally, the Balagan partners submitted an application for operation back in 2017 for a lease off Pleasant Street near the highway, according to Workman, whose father owned Jake’s restaurant in Northampton for three decades. Once the former Sam’s building opened on the market however, Workman and company decided to pounce on the intimate location in the heart of the downtown area.

“I’m emotionally invested in downtown Northampton, and it just felt kind of right to snag it and try this route,” said Workman when speaking on the location at 235 Main St. “We really don’t want to or expect to compete with the big fish. We want to be a smaller, boutique operation, and Main Street felt like the best home for that outfit.”

Gal, an Israeli native who also assists with operations at the dispensary, met Workman when she moved to Israel for a brief while. Gal was lifelong friends with the other partners, who are all from north Israel as well. Workman moved back home to Northampton after living in Israel for seven years because she wanted to be closer to her parents and felt a certain level of homesickness. Most of the partners agreed that if they got the license to operate in Northampton, then they would relocate together. Alpert remains in New York as the financer.

“It’s surreal … I never really expected to live here again, let alone open a business,” said Workman, who added that the reason for this initial feeling stemmed from watching the grueling process of running a small business through her father. “Particularly through a restaurant concept, that’s a hard way to earn a living,” she added.

Over the three years since Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz signed Balagan’s host agreement, the team renovated the former Sam’s Pizza space, relocated two of the team’s families  –  one all the way from Israel – and opened Café Balagan next door. Of course, the opening process for the dispensary stalled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the business was able to obtain their provisional license about six months ago and continue their opening process.

With all the partners having lived in Israel at some point in their lives, Workman said that the team wanted to unveil – at least energetically – what they loved so much about that part of the world. The name, for example, is a Hebrew slang term that loosely translates to “beautiful chaos.”

“Sonically, we just like the way it sounds,” said Workman when speaking on the importance of the name. “We hope that it sticks in people’s memory.”

Included in Balagan’s extensive menu is a cultivator known as Tikun Olam, which is widely considered Israel’s best heirloom cannabis and is distributed through Massachusetts. Balagan has the Northampton exclusive on its flower. Outside of that, Balagan’s menu also includes various cultivators and producers from Massachusetts, whether it be Hatfield, Pittsfield, or right at home in Northampton. Generally, the dispensary sells pre-rolls, edibles, vapes, concentrates, tinctures, CBD products and glassware accessories. They are also expanding with a selection of cannabis-infused seltzers, ice creams and olive oils.

According to Workman, the partners are here to have some fun and not take day-by-day events too seriously. Their goal is to cater to the hyper-local crowd and support neighboring retailers. Their future goals are to host some night events, pop ups, and other collaborations with the neighboring café. When social cannabis consumption in Massachusetts is legalized, the team wants to have the first café to take advantage of the new law. The latter is more of a long-term goal. In the meantime, they are continuing to make headway in the community.

“A lot of partners and their families have sacrificed and uprooted their lives to be here and to do this,” said Workman. “Northampton took a huge hit with COVID [-19], to the point where people weren’t sure if it was not going to revive itself. But I’m very happy to say that it is reviving itself, and I’m proud to be a part of that resurgence.”