FARMINGTON – A public hearing was held Tuesday night for a proposed marijuana business on the Wilton Road; the application was later approved by selectmen.
Kender Farms and 710 Bottling Facility will be opening at 361 Wilton Road after some major renovations to the former dealership building, applicant Charles Crandall told board members. The roughly five-acre lot will provide ample space for the 12,000 square feet of state of the art greenhouses that Crandall and his business partner Jacob Daku plan to install. The greenhouses, manufactured by Next G3N Greenhouse, include high tech odor control methods such as a carbon filtration system and ozone generator.
Crandall and Daku have been working together for the last year at Blue Sky Lab in Mercer- a cannabis extraction company- and plan to expand on those offerings with their new venture.
The bottling facility, which will occupy the majority of the main building, will produce canned and bottled cannabis beverages such as sodas and seltzers. The product has become increasingly popular and 710 Bottling Facility will soon be providing the only production facility of its size in the state. According to the application, Kender Farms and 710 Bottling Facility currently employs nine full time people and will eventually hire 12-16 more.
“We are already very valuable to the state,” Crandall said. “We are the only lab operating at this level.”
Welcome to Farmington – Pot Capital of Western Maine.
Good to see that this building is not going to remain empty.
Glad to see another business opening in town to help with the never ending tax burden, plus the additional 20+ jobs estimated. I have personally known Chad for over 30 years and you couldn’t ask for a more generous and caring person. Best of luck brother.
This town cant find any other way to get businesses to come to this area so this is the avenue they choose. Way to go Farmington. A store on every corner now? This does not set a good example for our children or the local population. Remember, this is still considered a drug on the federal level for many reasons. Whats next? Cocaine dispenseries? Heroine dispenseries? Come on people! Wake up! We dont need this in our town or state. Cant wait to hear the comments defending marijuana. Its a psychoactive drug that has an easy potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependency. This is what our selectmen want in our town? Seriously?
why do they need so many of these places, before we know it they will have one on each corner.
Congrats Chad & Farmington! The good guys in this business will be the ones left in the end!
Disgusted and Marie Spencer you may be onto something, maybe we should have more schools and colleges so people can take a reading comprehension course. Then instead of having taxable businesses we can just keep raising the taxes of the low and middle income and the elderly. This is a first in the state for this type of business. As for it leading too cocaine and other drugs that is absurd. I know a lot of people that smoke weed and have zero interest in other drugs. The “gateway” boogie man theory is as ridiculous as free healthcare for all. Yes I went political. Have any of you read any democrat candidates websites ? There’s more there than what the msm is telling you.
To all of you railing at change…did you prefer it when it was all black market? There is no more pot around Farmington now than there was 20 years ago. At least now there is tax revenue and real jobs coming into the area. What fairy tail businesses were you all expecting to roll into the metropolis of Farmington. Oddly enough I would hazard a guess that if it was a brewery opening up, many of the same people would extol the benefits of a new business in town.
Congratulations to Jake & Chad!!! These two men are incredibly professional and are top in their trade! Farmington couldn’t ask for any better! I cant wait to see them succeed in all they pursue.
(And FYI: for the haters- this is not a dispensary storefront. Bottling plant and grow facility. With state of the art equipment to manage “aroma”) jobs & $ to our economy-nothing wrong with that.
Wow Man,,,,
Farmington D is right next door Dude..
Munchies!!!!
This is not a good thing, no matter what argument is made to support it. Eventually this is going to come back around just as tobacco did and these companies will be sued for the damages this drug has been known to cause and will continue to cause. And thank goodness their tax revenue is going to be so good because we are going to need it to pay all of the medical related bills this will bring in the years to follow. Farmington Maine…pot capital of the east.. yay
The anti-cannabis crowd cracks me up. What is with the hysteria? Most of your friends have been smoking long before it was legalized and turned out just fine. Relax. No one would care if it was another store selling liquor- no one cares the example it sets for kids if their parents drink to excess or we have beer cans scattered all over our roadways….everyone loves their booze but cannabis? Oh no!!!
” everyone loves their booze but cannabis? ”
Wrong, everyone doesn’t love booze. Does that mean the rest of your comment is bs?
I am glad a professional business is using this empty building and offering jobs.
Do you have a child or grandchild that suffers endlessly with seizures? This facility makes oils to lessen the amount of seizures that these people have. What about multiple sclerosis? There’s an aid to that! Let’s look at the benefits!! Way to go Chad & company, you’ve helped so many!!
To Oh Man,
You said people have been smoking pot for a long time.
True.
You said they have turned out just fine.
Not so fast on that point please.
“Everything is fine,,, until it’s not”.
Let’s not ignore the “complete” story.
I agree with you about a double standard concerning alcohol.
I disagree that 2 wrongs make a right.
How about being sober?
What a “concept”.
Funny though,, it’s ALL about the money.
There’s no profit in sobriety.
And, THAT’S THE REST OF THE STORY.
JeepMe: I am curious to know all the damages this drug causes?? At this point, I have not heard of any…
During the 1970’s and 80’s, pot was illegal, but still smoked (and sometimes ate) anyway, keeping under the radar. Then in the 90’s and around the century change, attitudes relaxed, and recreational use began to find acceptance. It was either legal, small amounts were exempted, or law enforcement looked the other way. It became optional.
What happens if pot becomes mandatory?!?!
A resurgence of the ‘Doobie Brothers’?
I fear the ‘nickel bag’ will never return!
A resurgence of ‘Cheech and Chong’ vinyl albums and movies?
But seriously, we each have the free will and right to use or not use marijuana, just like tobacco and alcohol, etc.
To Just Saying,
“You” haven’t seen any damages “at this point”.
Ok,,fair enough as long as you respect those who claim “they were” damaged from smoking weed.
Unless you think they’re all lying.
Prolly not..
Yes, alcohol is worse.
That is proven.
But hey,,,, they keep developing more potent weed and maybe it will CATCH UP.
That seems to be the goal.
Yaknow,,, Denial is “kinda” common among addicts of any kind.
Just Saying!
Planet Denial: I have a feeling those” damaged” from smoking weed are on a planet of their own….
Smoking pot leads to…..ah….um…..I forget!4
What’s next people? Where do we draw the line? Soon people will be growing something like barley and using it in some sort of bottled beverage that makes people make poor choices.
I hear you can make medicine from poppies. Why not do that?
Pete Tracy is exactly right. If you don’t like it don’t use it. Although society seems to think today that we can be told (dictated) what we can and can’t do or own that is not how our country was designed (free society).
I know my usage has caused some memory loss over the last 20+ yrs. I could also get dementia or Alzheimer’s like my grandfather did that never used pot. Jeep me or denial could you expand on what your talking about please ?
Becky yes I know people that use it for kids some are lower in thc than marijuana but it depends on severity of each case. It works wonders for my dog that has seizures and it’s much more affordable than anything that big pharma has to offer us !!!
Yes Bob and they could call it “spirits”…
Or,,, (how about this idea),, they might pick tobacco leaves and light it ON FIRE and inhale that smoke directly into their lungs causing their lungs to rot with cancer.
Or,,,(here’s one),, they could shave their legs with a wood plane.
Why not….
Unlike some properties in this county that we will never see a dime in tax dollars from all these guys are asking for is a chance to create jobs and start something from nothing. A rare treat from the service industries that shuffle money around and think they are doing great things. I am going to wait and see before I make any rash judgements. As far as fear our founding fathers would laugh at people today for blaming everything and everybody for our own abuse and bad decisions. And dont even get me started on denial, its been thrown around since time began.