Cannabis Dispensary Opens in Pine Plains

Pine Plains’ first licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary opens Friday, July 31, inside a restored agricultural weigh station, introducing a new retailer to town and advancing a broader plan to redevelop the former Deuel’s Home Center property.

The still-unnamed shop at 7723 South Main St. will be managed by Brian Seiler and Benjamin Abrahams, the owners of Upstate Pines in Red Hook, in partnership with Christopher Gumprecht, who owns the property and holds the cannabis license.

The opening comes nearly 16 months after the proposal was first presented to the Pine Plains Planning Board on April 8, 2025. The operators see Friday as the beginning of a larger business wager. They believe the 580-square-foot store can attract shoppers, create jobs, generate tax revenue, and help finance a grocery store and ice cream shop proposed elsewhere on the property.

Seiler and Abrahams arrive in Pine Plains having survived an earlier gamble that nearly exhausted their resources.

Opening Upstate Pines, which began serving customers in Red Hook in November 2024, required both men to leave established careers and carry about a year of rent and construction costs while state approval remained pending. Seiler left a career of about 15 years as an operating engineer in New York City, while Abrahams left his job as a plumber in Red Hook. Both are fathers, and one of Seiler’s children attends school in the Pine Plains Central School District.

“When we opened Red Hook, I literally had no money left,” Seiler said.

The store has since grown to employ eight people, and its performance persuaded Gumprecht to ask them to manage the Pine Plains location.

“It’s a childhood dream come true,” Seiler said. “Me and Ben never thought we’d see the day that we’d be selling and paying taxes on cannabis. It’s awesome.”

They are now applying that experience in a town where several prominent retailers have recently closed.

Peck’s Market closed last fall after 103 years, leaving Pine Plains without a grocery store. The Rural Center Refillery and Demeter Home closed their Church Street shops, and Hammertown Barn announced in April that it would close its Pine Plains flagship after four decades.

Seiler expects the store to become a regional draw.

“We feel like a lot of people are going to come here just because of us,” he said.

The Road to Approval

Gumprecht bought the former Deuel’s property in 2020 and completed the restoration of the weigh station building in 2022. After visiting Upstate Pines, he approached Seiler and Abrahams about developing and managing the store.

“I naively thought like, hey, I’d like to open up a store,” Gumprecht said. “I didn’t realize that it was going to become this process.”

The proposal first appeared before the Planning Board in April 2025. It became entangled in a town law prohibiting cannabis retailers within 300 feet of an “essential public service.” The weigh station is 215 feet from the Pine Plains firehouse and 97 feet from the post office.

The Pine Plains Fire District and Pine Plains Hose Company submitted letters opposing the project, citing the nearby firehouse and events held there for children.

The Planning Board granted a waiver in October after state guidance rendered the 300-foot restriction unenforceable. The board completed its environmental review in November and approved the site plan 6-0 on Dec. 17.

A dispute over an accessible entrance ramp delayed the opening for another seven months. The applicants argued that the ramp, which would have crossed the historic scale, was not required under state building regulations and would cost about $30,000.

On July 15, the Planning Board voted 5-0 to remove the requirement, resolving an impasse that had prevented the business from obtaining a certificate of occupancy.

“It feels great, honestly,” Seiler said. “When Chris came to us, the first thing I said is it’s not going to be quick.”

Opposition remained visible as the opening approached. A landscaping business across South Main Street recently placed a large piece of plywood outside with “Say no to drugs” painted in red letters.

Seiler said the display generated an unexpected response.

“Since that sign went up across the street, I’ve got like 40 phone calls,” he said. “People have said that’s not how Pine Plains feels about you.”

Building the Pine Plains Operation

A different complication emerged during the final days of preparation.

“We were originally going to call this place The Weigh Station, but the DBA is already taken in New York, so we have no name technically right now,” Seiler said.

The proposed name referred to the building’s former role weighing agricultural products transported by railroad. The dispensary can operate under its licensed legal entity while the partners seek approval for another public-facing name. Seiler said the eventual choice will still pay homage to the building’s history.

The shop will sell recreational cannabis products to customers 21 and older, including flower, pre-rolled joints, vaporizer cartridges, concentrates, and edibles.

The inventory will include products from Alchemy Pure, a licensed cultivator and processor based in Pine Plains.

“Everything’s from New York,” Seiler said. “It has to be. But we do have a lot of local farms.”

The dispensary will initially employ two full-time and two part-time workers, in addition to Gumprecht, Seiler, and Abrahams.

Among them is Jay Onnembo, a Milan resident and combat veteran who has worked with Seiler and Abrahams for more than a year.

Onnembo said he had not used cannabis before New York legalized adult use. He said cannabis has since helped him sleep and process traumatic experiences and led him to work in the industry.

“I just want to be part of it,” Onnembo said. “I’m here because I want to be. It’s awesome.”

The dispensary will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. It will accept cash on opening day, with debit payments expected afterward.

Betting on Pine Plains

Retail purchases of adult-use cannabis in New York are subject to taxes totaling 13%: 9% for the state and a 4% local excise tax.

Of the local portion, 75% goes to the municipality where the dispensary is located, and 25% goes to the county. Pine Plains will therefore receive an amount equal to approximately 3% of the store’s taxable sales, while Dutchess County will receive approximately 1%.

The amount will depend entirely on the dispensary’s performance. Seiler said that Upstate Pines makes deliveries daily to Pine Plains customers.

He pointed to the kinds of improvements that could make the new revenue tangible for residents.

“The people who hate us now are going to love us in a year when they’re walking down a new sidewalk in the street, hopefully that the revenue pays for,” he said.

The larger business wager is unfolding on the same property. Preliminary plans presented to the Planning Board call for a grocery store, an ice cream shop, and a shared parking area. Those proposals will require separate engineering, environmental, and site-plan reviews.

The redevelopment was effectively paused while the dispensary awaited permission to open. Gumprecht plans to use revenue from cannabis sales to help move the grocery project forward, making the dispensary the first operating piece of a larger capital plan.

“I’d like this to be part of the community and to give back to the community,” Seiler said.

For Seiler and Abrahams, Friday brings their venture full circle: Pine Plains was where they first hoped to open before establishing Upstate Pines in Red Hook. For the town, the opening will test whether demand for cannabis can support a new retailer and help advance Gumprecht’s plan for a grocery store.