First Worcester Economic Empowerment Pot Store Changing Hands

WORCESTER, MA — Six months after its grand opening, the Worcester cannabis store New Día — the city's first applicant under the state's economic empowerment program — will be taken over by a California-based national chain.

The chain Cookies operates more than 30 cannabis stores across the U.S., but the Worcester store at 118 Cambridge St. will be the company's first in New England. Cookies was co-founded by the rapper Berner, who performs with Wiz Khalifa and A$AP Rocky.

"I fell in love with Massachusetts a while back at one of my first shows out there. The fire marshal shut down my show because the crowd was smoking, and the venue immediately turned into a hotbox; the energy was so pure and so was the love for cannabis and the whole crowd was chanting 'let us smoke,'" Berner said in a news release. "When we saw that Massachusetts was the first place on the East Coast to legalize cannabis, we had to enter the market."

It's unclear what will become of the New Día brand with Cookies saying in a news release that Cambridge Street is its "newest retail location," and that the store would create 23 jobs but "most of the staff was retained from the previous business."

New Día founder Ross Bradshaw began preparing to open the store in 2017 when he applied for a retail license under the economic empowerment program, which provides a fast-track for people from communities that have been disproportionately affected by drug enforcement.

Bradshaw worked over the last year with his family and friends to renovated the 1,200 square-foot space before hosting a grand opening ceremony on March 1. Cannabis Control Commission records show New Día has changed its business name to Cookies, but Bradshaw was not immediately available for comment Thursday about his role in the store.

The Cookies location will host a grand opening ceremony on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. with an appearance by Berner.