 Berkshire Roots is a cannabis dispensary located in the heart of the Berkshires in Massachusetts. I had a chance to talk to the CEO of the company, James Whitaker, who told me all about the company and how it's growing. So Berkshire Roots was founded when it was medical only in Massachusetts. So really to service people who are looking for relief, all kinds of ailments and conditions were passed in the original regulations. So that was really the focus, the great training and knowledge that we could bring to people to help them find an alternative medicine. And then you switched over to adult use when that went legal, correct? Correct. So in Pittsfield where we have cultivation, our first medical dispensary we added adult use April 2018. And now you have expanded into Boston. What has the difference been between the Boston market and the Berkshire market? So it's been great to get to East Boston. We opened on July 20th and it's a really city environment. So there are a lot of people who live nearby the dispensary who can walk to us. So it's a very different feeling for people that live in the neighborhood. It's a neighborhood kind of community. We've gotten to know a lot of the people that come in the door, they've gotten to know our staff. It's really been interesting. For a lot of people that will see this video and not know where the Berkshires is, it's a mountainous area, a lot of outdoor sports, very active, a lot of second homes. Are you getting a lot of customers from across state lines like New York and Connecticut? We do get a lot of people from all over the place, particularly the states that border us, New York and Connecticut. They come for the activities, the hiking, the skiing, the swimming, and a lot have second homes, vacation homes, etc. So it's a great mix of people that come through the dispensary and they really do come here specifically so that they want our products. And when you mention that of the outdoors feel, you know, clearly when you walk into the Berkshire Roots store, it's got a very earthy feel. It's, there's a lot of rustic rocks and wood beams. What was your thought behind the image you wanted to portray? The image we wanted was really to convey that this is a western Massachusetts, almost like the Colorado of Massachusetts. So it is a mountainous region. We do like the warmth of the wood and the materials that we have in here, the stone walls, etc. And that conveys also through the staff. So our staff is very personable, friendly, not in any rush and we want people to really find what they want. Are you seeing certain trends between what people buy at this store in the Berkshires versus the Boston customer? There's a lot of common products between the two. We try and maintain similar menus. We have found again with that neighborhood community in East Boston, it's easy to come in, pick up products, try them, come back, get more or different products. So we are seeing a lot of similarities in product type, but a lot of learning going on in East Boston. In East Boston particularly, we are seeing a lot of flour being purchased, either raw, so to speak, that they can roll themselves or use themselves and the pre-roll type. So the pre-rolls again are a great way to try something, maybe a flour type. We try and convey that it's not all about the THC, so people are willing to take our guidance and try new things and that's really been beneficial to our customers there. I noticed when I drove up, there's a big building being constructed and it looks like it's more cultivation. Let's talk about this expansion because this seems like a lot of room for cannabis to be grown. We do have cultivation here in the building that we're standing in. So we started with about 10,000 square feet here and the new building that you saw is a three-story cultivation. It's a narrow property, so we went up and we'll have about 20,000 square feet in that building and that's so we can service our own customers, but we want to be really good wholesalers in the future. Lots of new licenses coming in Massachusetts, a lot of those won't have cultivation, so that is our plan to get our product out to the retailers. And what have you done to address like pandemic concerns or COVID concerns? So when COVID first came out, I recognized we needed policies even before the state mandated policies. So we've been fanatical. That's the word that I use with the team. Let's be fanatical about this. Hygiene within the dispensary, in the production area, mass. At one time, we were part of creating hand sanitizer for the state and the team has done a phenomenal job. We've had no incidents here. Our customers are really pleased, social distancing, limited occupancy, and we're doing everything we can to keep people safe. Do you know what percentage of your clientele here are from out of state? You know, we generally kind of keep our data private, but I could say about 50-50. Are you able to offer any kind of discounts to your customers? So in Massachusetts, we're allowed to offer medical patients all kinds of programs, whether it's discounts or loyalty points. In fact, today, while you're here, it's double points day for medical patients. But Massachusetts regulations don't allow us to do any kind of sales or promotions for adult use. How many people are employed by Berkshire Roots? So with the addition of East Boston, we have over 100 people now at Berkshire Roots. That's amazing. That's great for the economy, right? Great for the economy. Massachusetts and the local cities where we are, and we tend to grow as cultivations do. You mentioned the building outside, so we will employ even more people in the near future. I'm Deborah Borchart from the Green Marker Report at Berkshire Roots.