Cannabis farm eyes Shelton for first retail location
SHELTON — Rodeo Cannabis, which bills itself as the largest cannabis farm in New England hopes to make Shelton home to its first retail location.
Arthur Linares, co-founder and CEO of the Connecticutbased company, filed an application to open a hybrid medical and recreational dispensary in Crown Point Center off Bridgeport Avenue less than a day after the Planning and Zoning Commission’s moratorium on such establishments officially ended.
“We love Shelton, the people, the business-friendly town,” said Linares, who co-founded Rodeo Cannabis with Brian Faye. “It feels like a perfect fit.”
The commission, at its meeting last month, deadlocked, 3-3, on a motion to prohibit such establishments in Shelton. The deadlock means the motion failed, allowing applications to be filed starting April 1.
The plans go before the commission Wednesday. Linares said there is no specific timeframe for opening.
The company’s website states the Morris-based grower is “a wholesale supplier of Fresh Frozen flower, live rosin vapes gummies, and offers remediation services.”
The company plans to occupy a 2,000 square foot space, which includes a drive-thru. The interior design shows a waiting area at the entrance, in which customers would have their identification checked.
There will be a large sales floor area. In the rear will be the vault, which is required by state law, and a pick-and-pack room. The plans state there will be between 10 and 20 employees.
As a Section 149 cultivator, Rodeo Cannabis is entitled to receive two licenses to operate cannabis dispensaries, Linares said.
He said the company paid its $3 million licensing fee to the state and started growing in June 2023. The 80-acre farm includes about 10 acres of cultivation area, according to Linares.
Linares said he has always been interested in farming. His new venture comes after selling his previous business, the solar company Greenskies, in 2017.
“My father’s family farm was confiscated by the government in Cuba after Fidel Castro took over in 1966, and now we have another chance to operate a family farming business,” he said.