Two cannabis proposals in Dorchester are getting their first public airings this month, with one retail operation eyeing a high-profile location on Gallivan Boulevard in Neponset and a delivery-only operation hoping to open at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Boston Streets in the Polish Triangle.

The 770 Gallivan Blvd. location — formerly home to a Bickford’s Restaurant and a Verizon retail store— will be the subject of an online community meeting organized by the Mayor’s Office, on Wed., Jan. 18. at 6 p.m., where the proponent— Surf’s Up Cannabis Ventures — will make a presentation, according to a public notice published in the Reporter last week.

The owners of Surf’s Up for this story did not respond to the Reporter’s attempt to reach them for comment. Conor Newman of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services did not respond to e-mails seeking more information.

The new proposal marks the second time the Gallivan location has been eyed by an adult-use cannabis retailer. In 2020, CNA Stores of Amesbury considered the site after their initial plan to open at a different Gallivan location was met with opposition from local civic groups.

According to Surf Up’s application with the Boston Cannabis Board, the business would lease the space from owner Alexander Argiros, who heads up a trust that controls the property.

Christine Argiros of Greentech 770 Ventures (Norwood), and Richard Parsons and Michelle Foley of Surf’s Up Cannabis Operations (South Weymouth and Quincy) are the partners in Surf’s Up Cannabis Ventures. They have a lease on the building and detail a 2,136 square-foot retail showroom in a 4,576 square-foot building with partial access to the large parking lot on the property.

The first-year rent, according to the 10-year lease, would be $49,573 per month, and would escalate to $72,216 per month in year 10. The group filed the application on June 1.

Delivery only in Polish Triangle
A second cannabis company, known as Doobie, had its public meeting to discuss the proposed Polish Triangle location on Jan. 10. The proponent, Ericca Kennedy, said she and her husband Justin bootstrapped their first effort in Wareham as long as they could and have partnered with Joseph Rubin and Jessica Powell, who have since moved to Massachusetts from out of state. They plan to offer retail direct delivery by vehicle to customers in the area who are 21 and over, using the Gem Auto Parts location at 1 Mt. Vernon St. as a warehouse and vehicle hub.

“We are not open to the public for them to come in and shop so there is no foot traffic,” she said, noting that if they are approved, they would start with four to eight delivery vehicles and scale up when business increases.

“One thing about this location is that we have the ability to store all the delivery vehicles inside our delivery hub so there wouldn’t be any on-street parking taken up by any of our vehicles,” she said. “We are really striving to be good neighbors.”

She said they chose to locate their second location in Dorchester because a good deal of their customer base was from the Boston area and having a location at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Boston streets was ideal. She added their company is build for a post-pandemic world where deliveries are easy and contact-free, noting that they don’t believe they will eat into any existing retail dispensaries in the area. There is a retail store dispensary currently operating on nearby Clapp Street.

“There’s room for everyone to flourish,” she said.

Neither proposal has a hearing date with the Boston Cannabis Board. They are currently in the community meeting and outreach stage of their proposals.