Travis Duda

Through a partnership with New Día, LLC, the popular international cannabis brand, Cookies recently expanded their operations to the East Coast for the first time. They’ve taken over and transformed the storefront at 118 Cambridge St. and have created a cool spot for travelling stoners and local potheads alike.

One of the best parts of this new deal is that the partnership included the existing New Día staff and provided resources for an additional 23 new and locally hired staff members. New Dia Owner, Ross Bradshaw, sees this as an opportunity to both expand their impact on the local economy as well as expand its mission as one of the first Massachusetts economic empowerment applicants.

I learned about Cookies halfway through POW! WOW! Worcester 2021. A group of us were standing at Jason Naylor’s mural on Jackson Street when a car full of Cookies employees pulled up and handed us free swag bags. Inside the branded drawstring bags were stickers, a lighter, and info about their opening.

Due to the mural festival, I wasn’t able to attend the opening, but it looked like a heck of a party. They even set up the first few customers with branded folding chairs and other gear. I also saw a photo of their CEO, Berner, holding up a sign showing Cookies “Worscester” which made me a little skeptical. But any doubts faded after seeing their interior design and large, correctly spelled, Worcester postcard poster.

I was already familiar with their location, having been to New Dia a couple times, but now the dispensary is dripping with Cookies branding. The shelves are loaded with the available Cookies strains. They feature a mix of edibles, topicals, and other products from local cannabis brands, as well as exclusive, New England themed clothing. Between the neon lights and the bumping hip hop, the environment feels exciting and fun to explore.

During my first trip, I was escorted through their showroom by one of their budtenders who was eager to tell me about all the different strains, as well as show me the differences using their magnified display table. This space age serving tray is loaded with buds from all of the available strains in containers that resemble the fifty cent prize machines at the grocery store. Each of the eggs has a built-in magnifying glass, allowing easy viewing of the frosted nugs. Don’t get handsy though, the eggs are to be touched by staff only, and are secured down with a wire, similarly to a cell phone display.

I really enjoyed how knowledgeable their budtenders are and the way they create a personal shopping experience for every customer. This causes a little bit of a slow down when trying to get into the facility, but once I got through the front door, the experience was worth the wait.

I left with some Collins Ave and Sticky Buns which were both really nice for different reasons. Collins Ave was a nice working herb while Sticky Buns ended up being the evening hang. But that’s just my experience. Find a reason to head to Cambridge St and check out New Dia’s new look. I think it’s pretty sweet.