Cleveland Circle Mary Ann's Edges Closer To Becoming Pot Shop

CLEVELAND CIRCLE, MA— A proposal that would convert classic Mary Ann's dive bar into a pot shop is moving forward after Boston officials gave it a preliminary license, despite pushback from Boston College school officials and some in the neighborhood.

The five-member Boston Cannabis Board approved the license at a virtual meeting Wednesday afternoon, along with five others.

"Boston College joins Cleveland Circle business owners and local residents in expressing our disappointment over the Board's decision, which we believe is not in the best interest of the community," said Boston College spokesperson Jack Dunn in an email. "We will share our concerns with the company moving forward, as stipulated in their license agreement."

Happy Valley Ventures of Massachusetts, which has a location in Gloucester and plans to open a medical-marijuana dispensary in East Boston and has projects in Newburyport and Salem, has said it has a purchase-and-sale agreement to buy Mary Ann's and turn it into a contemporary pot shop for both recreational and medical marijuana users.

The retailer would need to win support from the Boston City Council and the Boston zoning board before it could open. Last year, Boston College, local merchants, residents and area police voiced strong opposition.

Happy Valley said they would buy the building from Boston Group, which purchased the bar, and some other Boston dives last year. Boston Group is managed by City Realty.

Although Mary Ann's has been around for some six decades, there have been movements in the past to get it shut down, with neighbors citing noise from the crowds leaving the bar late at night and filtering through the nearby neighborhood as well as the bar's citations for underage drinking.

Patch has reached out to Happy Valley for comment.

• Boston College Against Turning Mary Ann's Dive Bar Into Pot

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .