A topless dispensary may not be coming to western Massachusetts as soon as they'd hoped, but two strip-club owners say they're working to bring cannabis into their joint while focusing first on simply reopening.
In February, Club Castaway owner Nick Spagnola told the Business Journal about his idea for a topless dispensary. His thought was to remove alcohol and dancing from the Whately strip club and transform it into a cannabis-retail establishment with topless workers. In a saturated market, Spagnola wanted to find a way to enter into the cannabis industry, but to stand out.
The business owners have since switched up their plans, Spagnola told the Business Journal, and they now plan to reopen as a strip club.
Castaway Club, co-owned by Spagnola and Julius Soko closed back in 2020, when the state issued an emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic and has not opened since. Instead of moving to build a topless dispensary, the owner says his No. 1 priority is just to reopen the club's doors.
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“Our opening date has been pushed back quite a bit from our original plan to reopen in March. However, we will be open in September for sure,” Spagnola said.
In the meantime, the business has been hiring entertainers, bar staff and has been working with the town on licensing. Once up and running, Spagnola said, that Club Castaway plans to be open from Wednesday through Saturday.
