Cultivate was a Massachusetts cannabis operator whose Leicester dispensary became one of the first two stores in the state to sell adult-use cannabis. Cresco Labs acquired the business in 2021, and its stores now trade under the Sunnyside banner. The Cultivate name survives as Massachusetts retail history rather than as a working storefront brand.
Leicester and the first day of adult-use sales
Cultivate's Leicester store ran as a medical dispensary for about a year before adding adult-use sales. On November 20, 2018, it and New England Treatment Access in Northampton opened as the Commonwealth's first two recreational cannabis retailers, closing the gap between the state's 2016 ballot legalization and commercial sales. Sam Barber, Cultivate's owner and chief executive, called it a historic day for the state. Traffic on opening day was heavy enough that the store ran auxiliary parking at a nearby nursery and drive-in lot a quarter mile away, with shuttle vans bringing customers in.
The business before acquisition
The operating company was Cultivate Holdings, based at 1764 Main Street in Leicester, and it combined cultivation and product manufacturing with medical and adult-use retail. By the time of the sale it ran dispensaries in Leicester, Framingham and Worcester.
The Cresco acquisition
Cresco Labs closed its acquisition of Cultivate on September 3, 2021. The purchase added three operating dispensaries and roughly 42,000 square feet of active flowering canopy, taking Cresco's Massachusetts canopy to about 64,000 square feet. Concurrent with closing, Cresco's Fall River retail location transitioned to medical-only sales. The deal was announced at up to $158 million: $15 million in cash, $75 million in Cresco shares and up to $68 million contingent on earnings thresholds.
Cultivate is now Sunnyside
Cresco rebranded the Leicester, Framingham and Worcester locations under Sunnyside, its retail banner, which publishes its own Cultivate is now Sunnyside notice. The three addresses are 1764 Main Street in Leicester, 250 Worcester Road in Framingham and 1023 Southbridge Street in Worcester. Menus, accounts and store policies at those addresses belong to Sunnyside.