Thomas Popke, who said he had leased space in the Mad River Green Shopping Center for a retail cannabis store, said he had some issues with shopping center owner Crosspoint Associates and is not going to open a retail shop there.
Paul Connolly, asset manager for Crosspoint, said that neither Popke nor the business he said he represented, The Herb Collection, had a lease for any space in the shopping center.
“We’re not signing a lease for a retail cannabis business at this point,” Connolly said.
Popke said he was still hopeful that he could find space in Waitsfield and said he’d explored part of the Sage building and had talked to John Morris, owner of the Localfolk Smokehouse, about the possibility of leasing some space there.
Popke said that Ana Dan and Paul Weber, owners of Sage, were out of the country and said that Morris’ space was tied up. Popke said he had 10 more days to find a Waitsfield location and said that his partners in The Herb Collection would be pursuing other locations.
Popke, in a previous interview, said he spent his high school years skiing and snowboarding at Sugarbush, hence he wanted to pursue a retail cannabis operation in Waitsfield.
Popke farms at Opia Farm Genetics in Hinesburg, which is primarily dedicated to cannabis genetics and developing cultivars.
“I’m still looking for space in Waitsfield, although my partners have found other locations. I own property in Ferrisburg and could open a store there, the same thing with Bristol,” Popke said.
Popke said he would submit an application to the Waitsfield Development Review Board but that has not happened.
