Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Marijuana Deluge

Rafters Restaurant & Sports Bar 422 Amity Street

The success of the 25th Extravaganja, that necessitated they move from Amherst Town Common to the sprawling 3 County Fair grounds in Northampton to accommodate a crowd of 12,000, underscores the popularity of pot.

As if we needed any more examples:

Amherst just received a 4th proposal to locate a medical marijuana facility in town and it too is on (the corner of) University Drive where two others are already proposed.  Anyone who has lived in town for more than a month will recognize the address.

Rafters has been a mainstay of the responsible sports bar scene in Amherst for 25 years, catering to students/faculty, blue collar workers and families ... all with equal aplomb.

They sponsor sports teams, the Rafters College Towne Classik road race to raise money for the Jimmy Fund and Amherst Police Relief Association.



And for many years they hosted the St. Baldrick's head-shaving event to raise money for researching a cure for children's cancer.

Plus they employ dozens of workers who live and spend their paychecks in our local community.  The quintessential mom-and-pop owned by long time restaurateur Jerry Jolly, who also managed The Pub over 40 years ago and an original founder of the Amherst Business Improvement District.

Unfortunately he owns the business, but not the building.  With a selling price of $2 million -- more than twice its assessed value -- an offer impossible to match I would imagine, even if he did have a 1st right of refusal clause in his lease.

The new owners are betting an awful lot of money they will acquire a state RMD license, especially since they need Select Board approval via a Letter of Support/Non Opposition.

Since the Select Board has already issued three of them they could very well say, "No, enough."


University Drive: Pot alley? 

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! They could look to move into the vacant Maplewood building up Rt 9 just past Cumberland farms.

Anonymous said...

Thought the Summerlin's started The Pub, and Jerry and Dolly ran it for Laird.

Anonymous said...

They still run The Pub.

Dr. Ed said...

Larry, three things:

1: Rafters hasn't been there for "over a quarter century" because Checquers was there in the spring of 1991. The first implosion of UMass led to Checquers suddenly closing, along with the restaurant adjacent to the Hadley Stop & Shop. And a bunch of other local businesses, I'd argue that the local economy never recovered.

Say what you want Larry, don't think that UMass isn't imploding again, or ta=hat the demise of ABC isn't indicative of this.

2: The town has no legal right to distinguish between this proposed pothed paradise and the other three the've already supported. Opposing this one for the reasons you suggest would be a Section 1983 violation that would bankrupt the town.

3: On a personal note, I really don't care if decent, hardworking people are getting screwed. Where were they a dozen years ago when the "decent" people of Amherst should have supported me? So Fire Truck them, why should I care about them?

Oh, and as to the Maplewood Building, MSP has a level of jurisdiction on Route 9 (and egresses) that it doesn't have on U-Drive & Amity. Some of the off-duty "boys in blue" pulling out of a Rafters-at-Maplewood would be held to a higher level of scrutiny than now. (Anyone care to speculate had the B'town Chief been pulled over by a MSP Sgt a year or so from mandatory retirement???)

Larry, this is where the "we are we and you are you" comes back to bite people. And with a traffic light-controlled exit, this is the safest site...

Anonymous said...

"Where were they a dozen years ago when the "decent" people of Amherst should have supported me?"

Ed, you are truly nuts.

J.R. said...

Such a bitter, sad soul.

Anonymous said...

Sucks for Rafters, but I am more of a Hangar guy! But love the Jolley's, used to live across the small stream from them in Echo Hill when I was a kid. Don't forget they owned Seasons restaurant for a while also.

Amazing how all the dispensaries are opening in a student town. I do worry, beyond the pot-smoking DUI potential, about the potential for crime considering the large amounts of cash involved in these businesses. Seeing how a couple students tried to hold up other students with knives recently! And we had a gunman on-campus not so long ago...

Anonymous said...

"On a personal note, I really don't care if decent, hardworking people are getting screwed. Where were they a dozen years ago when the "decent" people of Amherst should have supported me?"

Ed, as a delusional narcissist you mistakenly believe that we even knew you existed.

Anonymous said...

Maplewood is not rentable. It has lots of restrictions. Zoning would have to be changed. It was originally opened under a farm stand exemption.

Anonymous said...

New owners can always continue to rent to the Jollys if they don't get approval.

Anonymous said...

Ed, since you've never aired what actually happened you can't expect any support.

Anonymous said...

I still think that the whole Ed thing will eventually turn out to have been a spoof all along.

Perhaps from a frustrated Shakespearean.

Rich Morse

Dr. Ed said...

I'm not looking for support -- only saying I don't give a Fire Truck how badly others get screwed by the big-money-from-away seeking to sell pot in Amherst.

Anonymous said...

Weed is awesome.

And one thing pot smokers have over the rest of folks.....we know how to organize a market economy without oversight....or at least we used to....even under the threat of imprisonment....now we know how to kiss butt and ask for taxes/permission.

Oh well. Everything sucks once it goes mainstream.

Weed used to be awesome.

Anonymous said...

"I'm not looking for support -- only saying I don't give a Fire Truck how badly others get screwed by the big-money-from-away seeking to sell pot in Amherst."

Of course you don't care. You don't live here.

Anonymous said...

Does ed really exist? I hope ed runs for mayor!

Anonymous said...

No. Only entrepreneurial pot smokers know how to do that. The rest of us are all WASTED!!

Dr. Ed said...

Dr. Ed is quite real -- and you know, running for Mayor is something I might actually do. On a "muckraker" basis, but if I then actually won, ummm.....

No, I don't want to be Mayor, nor to run for it, but were I asked, ummmm....

Mayor Dr. Ed said...

Larry:

http://newbostonpost.com/2016/04/25/study-heavy-pot-users-face-as-many-midlife-troubles-as-alcoholics/

Anonymous said...

Based on the article in the Gazette today it seems like both the marijuana dispensary and Rafters could/would coexist in teh same location. They new owners would build a new building in the back parking lots and Rafters would stay where it is. So you ca get stoned then walk 30 feet when the munchies kick in and eat.

Larry Kelley said...

I would imagine a lot depends on whether he increases the rent dramatically in order to cover some of the $2 million purchase price, not to mention construction costs on a new building.

Anonymous said...

"No, I don't want to be Mayor, nor to run for it, but were I asked, ummmm...."

Don't worry, Ed. No one is going to ask you to be mayor, superintendent, or dog catcher. You aren't qualified for any of those positions. Stop gazing at yourself in the mirror and take a look around. We all have jobs.

Dr. Ed said...

That's right next to a Buildable lot across the Hadley town line, would Hadley have to sign off too as it abuts Hadley.

Actually, all of these sites do, but this is the only one not wetland.

Anonymous said...

Is Rafters closing?

Dr. Ed said...

What I want isn't being Mayor, although I have no doubt I could win.

One could do it the way FDR became POTUS.

Anonymous said...

Odd that folks in government are trusted to regulate pot given their aweful track record for 50 years and their obsession with locking up peoples' kids. What makes folks think the regulations wont backfire on the economy like in Colorado? What is Mass going to do differently? Pot does not need regulation, children need better parents.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Ed for Dictator.