More Cannabis Shops May Be Coming To North Adams

It used to be a walk-up window for Ice cream, times have changed now, a walk-up window at the former Friendly's restaurant at 221 State Road will reopen as a drive-up window for cannabis products.

The Berkshire Eagle reports that the CEO of Clear Sky Cannabis, which plans a grand opening Saturday, likes riffing on the building's history. On one wall, the former front door from the old Friendly’s has been refurbished and mounted, harkening back to the history of the building.

Anthony Parrinello, CEO of the Stow-based Evergreen Strategies LLC, the parent company of Clear Sky Cannabis said.

“It’s our way of honoring the many memories that have been made over the decades for so many North Adams families,“We want to keep that as a part of the community, and restart the reputation as the friendliest place in town.”

Clear Sky, the second cannabis outlet in northern Berkshire County, held its soft opening on Monday.

On Saturday at 9:45 a.m. it will mark its arrival with a ribbon-cutting and gifts for the first 250 customers in the door.

The shop in the fully renovated former Friendly's stands at the front of the shopping center that once housed the Price Chopper grocery store.

Parrinello says he has years of experience in the medical marijuana industry as the former chief operating officer of Sira Naturals and then as CEO of Temescal Wellness. He's been preparing for this opening since early in 2018. With the pandemic slowing everything down, Parrinello was only able to start working on the 4,200-square-foot building a few months ago.

But now it’s done, and Clear Sky has plenty of inventory on hand for the grand opening, including more than 5,000 pre-rolled joints from 40 different strains of cannabis, and more than 37 pounds of flower from 20 different strains.

Also, the North Adams board granted a permit to a third cannabis shop; the ordinance only allows 2. But there are only two licenses available and one's already taken.

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