A former Fall River mayor is opening Fall River's newest cannabis shop this week

FALL RIVER — Will Flanagan has worked as a prosecutor, assistant corporation counsel, mayor of the city of Fall River and a defense attorney.

Now add another profession to Flanagan’s resume: marijuana entrepreneur.

“It’s been fun,” said Flanagan, a father of two young daughters.

On Thursday, Flanagan and his business partners, Sunny Aroustamian and Gevorg Saribekyan, will hold a grand opening of Cosmopolitan Dispensary, a recreational cannabis shop at 82 Hartwell St. in the site of the former Salter School.

The partners got their final OK from the Cannabis Control Commission on June 28.

A newly paved off-street parking lot has plenty of spaces available, and it abuts I-195 where a large green “Dispensary” sign on the top of the former school is easily seen by passing motorists.

On Friday, Flanagan led a preview tour of the renovated three-story building, starting with a vestibule where staff will check in customers. He then swiped a card and walked through a security door into the showroom floor with bright magenta and gray painted walls.

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The long glass display case was empty on Friday morning, but Flanagan said the product would be delivered throughout the holiday weekend to be ready for the soft opening on Tuesday.

“This was all reconstructed and I designed it,” said Flanagan. “I wanted to have a hip setting. A lot of the dispensaries I’ve gone to have been pretty plain. So, I wanted something that was hip, stands out, pops. I wanted something fun. I wanted a fun design and I think we achieved that.”

He said 15 staff are hired, trained and ready to go.

“The staff we’ve hired are good people, they’re fun people,” said Flanagan, adding that they focus on hiring local people. “We had a hiring event back in April and we must have interviewed over 75 people for the 15 positions.”

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While many dispensaries around the Commonwealth name their dispensary with cannabis themes, Flanagan chose Cosmopolitan for his recreational dispensary. “Because I like the name, you know, I just liked it. Again, when I looked at other dispensaries' names, they all have the same theme, 'wellness,' names like that,” said Flanagan. “I just wanted to stick out — again, something fun and trying to be a little different.”

Flanagan said for now, Cosmopolitan Dispensary will solely sell recreational cannabis, but with 20,000 square feet and two upper floors available, he said the goal is to eventually manufacture cannabis and edibles.

Hartwell location not first choice

It’s been a three-year effort for Flanagan and his partners to finally open the doors for their marijuana venture.

In August 2019, Flanagan received a letter of non-opposition and a host community agreement from former mayor Jasiel Correia II, making it the 14th and last letter to be granted to a marijuana business in the city.

At the time, it took some by surprise that the then-beleaguered mayor would grant Flanagan a green light to seek a state cannabis license. The two were once allies when Correia was a freshman city councilor while Flanagan was in his second term as mayor. They became political foes in 2014 when Correia claimed  Flanagan tried to intimidate him with a gun. The story was made public during the succesful effort to recall Flanagan. Flanagan produced a polygraph that he claimed proved the story was false, and ultimately never faced any charges in the incident, which was resolved in a civil suit in 2015.

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At the time Flanagan received the letter of non-opposition, he had plans to locate the recreational dispensary at 164 Durfee St., the site of a small convenience store and fast-food chicken take-out restaurant.

“It was near the First Step Inn,” said Flanagan, referencing the homeless shelter. “It was a nice location and then we had the community meeting at the library and the most part people were very supportive.”

But, Flanagan said, there was opposition from First Step Inn run by Steppingstone, an agency he said he worked with closely when he was mayor.

“I live in Fall River and I said, if you think we’re going to be a bother, then we won’t come. We don’t want to be in opposition with you, so we’ll find another place,” said Flanagan.

At the time, Mayor Paul Coogan had just come into office, Flanagan met with him and said they were looking for another space for the dispensary.

After they found the former Salter School that was up for sale, he requested a transfer of the host agreement to the Hartwell Street site.

“It worked out. We got zero opposition here,” said Flanagan. “It was a blessing in disguise.”

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Customer service and pricing are key

Flanagan is the president and general manager of Cosmopolitan Dispensary, and the new role means he will be scaling back on his defense attorney practice.

He sees a bright future for the Hartwell Street dispensary.

“We’ve got a great location, but I think what is going to bring people here is the customer service, because I get that, and the pricing and the quality of product,” said Flanagan.

Flanagan said his partner, Aroustamian, a Brockton business owner with a dispensary in that city, is “probably one of the best businessmen I’ve ever met.”

“Between him and I, we’ve developed relationships with growers in Massachusetts where we are getting unbelievable pricing right now. It’s probably even cheaper than if we were to grow our own. So that allows us to offer a product that people want at a low price with customer service,” said Flanagan.

Flanagan said Cosmopolitan Dispensary will have a diverse menu of products from flower, edibles and pre-rolls.

They’re waiting for the delivery of a freezer they recently purchased, Flanagan said.

“We’ll be offering cannabis-infused ice cream.”

Jo C. Goode may be reached at jgoode@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism and subscribe to The Herald News today!

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River's newest cannabis shop is owned by former mayor Flanagan