Haddon Township’s Planning Board has given unanimous approval to a revised plan from Brotherly Bud to convert a former automotive property along Crescent Boulevard into a cannabis micro-dispensary, reversing course three months after rejecting an earlier, more ambitious version of the same project. The approval clears the way for the township’s second licensed dispensary, joining an existing Brotherly Bud location the company already operates in nearby Mount Ephraim.

The turnaround traces back to a Planning Board meeting on May 7th, when Brotherly Bud co-owner William Sirois, represented by attorney Lou Cappelli, sought a use variance that would have allowed the Crescent Boulevard site to operate under Haddon Township’s standard dispensary designation rather than the more tightly restricted micro license category the property actually qualified for under the township’s cannabis ordinance. That ordinance caps the township at two total dispensaries, one operating under standard rules and one under micro rules, and the board ultimately denied the variance request, citing concerns from board members and nearby residents about the constraints of the site itself.

A Second Attempt, Built Smaller by Design

Rather than appeal the May decision or abandon the site, Brotherly Bud returned to the board with a scaled back proposal that dropped the request for standard designation entirely, opting instead to move forward within the more limited scope the micro license already allowed. That change appears to have resolved the core objection that sank the original application, and the revised plan passed without opposition from any board member.

Sirois, who co-owns Brotherly Bud alongside his brother Matthew, brings direct operating experience to the new location. The company’s original shop opened on the Black Horse Pike in Mount Ephraim in the summer of 2024 and has since become a steady, popular destination for cannabis products in the area, operating daily from 10 in the morning until 10 at night. That track record, along with the brothers’ familiarity with the surrounding South Jersey cannabis market, likely helped make the case for a second location even after the initial setback in May.

Reusing a Property Built for Something Else Entirely

The Crescent Boulevard site itself carries an unusual history for a cannabis retail proposal. The building sits within the township’s West Collingswood Heights neighborhood, an area many residents associate more closely with neighboring Gloucester City due to a quirk in the municipal border that places the property inside Haddon Township despite its surrounding context. The structure includes a section that has functioned as automotive service space, giving the project the now familiar shape of a cannabis operator repurposing an existing commercial building rather than pursuing new ground up construction.

That reuse strategy has become something of a pattern in Haddon Township’s approach to cannabis licensing. The township’s other available dispensary license, under the standard designation, is already slated for a separate Route 130 corridor project involving the demolition of the former Whata-Weiner restaurant and an adjacent former adult bookstore, a considerably more involved ground up redevelopment. Brotherly Bud’s approach of adapting an existing structure could give the Crescent Boulevard micro-dispensary a real head start, potentially allowing it to open well before the standard licensed competitor across the intersection completes its own more extensive construction process.

With both of Haddon Township’s available dispensary licenses now formally spoken for, attention along the Route 130 corridor is likely to shift from zoning approvals toward construction timelines and eventual opening dates, as two very differently scaled cannabis retail projects make their way toward becoming the township’s first legal dispensaries.