Residents Invited To Meeting for Andover St. Cannabis Proposal

Site had been permitted for a restaurant

Route 133 Cannabis, LLC has notified residents of a community outreach meeting on Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn Tewksbury-Andover, at 4 Highwood Drive. The registered agent on file for this LLC is Dean Graffeo.

The meeting will discuss the proposed siting of an adult use marijuana retailer at 1625 Andover St., a now vacant lot on Rt. 133 between Wendy’s and Aroma Joe’s. In 2019, the site was proposed as a one-story restaurant with main access off of Andover St. and a connection to the Lowell 5 drive, but not the adjoining hotel.

Graffeo previously proposed a retail cannabis shop at 2186-2196 Main St., the vacant wooded lot next to Boudreau Automotive, as Carbonear LLC. The Carbonear project listed Rob DiFazio as operating partner; DiFazio is CEO of cannabis operator CNA Stores. The rendering for that shop is above, though it’s unclear whether DiFazio is involved in the current project.

Graffeo’s first license application was denied by the Select Board, which cited heavy traffic on that stretch of Rt. 38 among the reasons.

In terms of the Andover St. site, this week, the Planning Board granted a one-year extension on the permit. Back in 2019, Matt Hamor and Jonathan Miller of The Daly Group, which owns the property, appeared to propose a restaurant at the site. That project is now off the table, said Miller. The extension, which was approved unanimously, will enable them to come back with “a slight modification to the plan.”

The property was not zoned for retail cannabis at the time of the first round of applications. A zoning change approved by Town Meeting in October by a narrow margin opened an additional area of town to this use.

Tewksbury’s first cannabis applicant, Sundaze, will also resubmit its proposal for a dispensary  at 2504 Main St., the former Sal’s Pizza, after being unanimously rejected in the first round of license hearings. 

The town has one cannabis license remaining.