BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM — Residents, visitors and shoppers were left with disappointing news this week with the sudden departure of a popular Market Street business, The Highest Peak cannabis dispensary, and the planned exit of another, Maple Run Emporium, in October.

While the empty storefronts downtown will soon number 8, the village isn’t taking the news lightly and is pivoting quickly to find new tenants for the vacant spaces as well as taking steps to make Market Street in Potsdam the premier place to do business in the North Country.

The Highest Peak

Local cannabis shoppers learned late last week from a Facebook post and a sign on the door that Saturday, Sept. 27 would be the last day The Highest Peak, formerly at 25 Market St., would be open in Potsdam.

The announcement reads:

“Hello everyone, tomorrow Saturday 9/27 will be our last day open in Potsdam. We will be moving the store to Halfmoon, NY. This was not in our plan when we opened the store in December of 2023 but sometimes in business, and life, our paths have unexpected changes and the only way forward is to adapt to those changes.

“We want to thank the community for welcoming us with open arms, our loyal customers, and our staff for sharing their vast knowledge of this wonderful plant with anyone who needed recommendations or was interested in learning more. We wish you all the best and thank you for your support!”

One of the current owners and founder, Aurora Wood, in a separate conversation with North Country This Week, said the move would allow more time with her children.

“The purpose of the move is so I can have less time away from my family. The new store will be 30 minutes from my house rather than 3.5 hours. My boys are 4 and 6 years old and this time with them is so precious to me,” Wood said.

“The town and customers were always so supportive and kind and we will miss this chapter of our story as we move on to the next chapter,” said Wood.

Local residents on Facebook expressed disappointment of the departure, but offered well wishes to Wood and the staff who worked at the dispensary.

“This is really heartbreaking for our community,” wrote Joanna Cross. “The staff you had here were absolutely incredible—so knowledgeable, welcoming, and passionate. They made this store what it was, and I truly hope someone will see how much they impacted the success of this space in our wonderful little village. Potsdam is losing something special, but the staff should be proud of the positive impact they had here.”

“This is very sad news. I was so impressed by the friendly, knowledgeable staff who worked here! What a loss to the Potsdam community,” said Elizabeth Quinn Vogt-Welch.

“Oh, that is really sad news. Your establishment has not only shown what responsible cannabis retail looks like, it’s been a bright star in a kinda ho-hum (Market) Street. We will miss you,” Sasha Kocho-Williams wrote.

The Highest Peak was the first legally licensed cannabis dispensary to open in St. Lawrence County and the first female-owned dispensary to open in the North Country. Wood, and former co-owner at the time Kinsey LaPointe, funded much of the remodeling and shop setup on their own rather than accept state funding through the Office of Cannabis Management to open the store.

The Potsdam Chamber of Commerce expressed gratitude for The Highest Peak’s contributions to the downtown business district. 

 “The Chamber is grateful for the support and contributions The Highest Peak brought to our community as a locally owned dispensary,” said Chamber director Melanie Flack. “Their presence filled a need in our downtown and added something unique to Potsdam. While we’re sad to see them close their local doors, we understand they are moving closer to home, and we wish them every success as they begin this next chapter.”  

Maple Run Emporium

Meanwhile, down the street at 49 Market, the popular specialty shop Maple Run Emporium which features gourmet foods, cookware, and an artisan gallery is getting ready to close its doors as well.

In a recent announcement from the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce, it was announced that the store will close its storefront after 14 years in Potsdam and will become an online store based in the Puget Sound region of Washington State.

The store founded by Mary Hilton is known for maple specialties, gourmet foods, high end cookware, knives, kitchen and dining linens, and an Artisan Gallery featuring locally made pottery, wood turnings, and paintings.

A Farewell Week Celebration is planned at the Market Street shop from Oct. 13-18. There will be a closeout sale that includes deep discounts on merchandise, fixtures, furnishings, and display units, the chamber said.

“I love this shop and enjoy every single day being here. What has made it special are the people — I know so many of my customers and their families by first name,” Hilton said. “The Farewell to Potsdam week is my way of saying thank you and goodbye to Market Street and my wonderful clientele. We can still stay connected though through my social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), Pinterest, and YouTube. I also want to thank the wonderful artists who honored the shop and me by selling their work in the shop’s gallery. And I owe a big thank you to the maple producers and other specialty vendors who supplied the shop with outstanding goods all these years.”

The store’s new west coast location will include an office, distribution and shipping and access to a storefront for pop-up sales.  The store’s website, www.maplerunemporiums.com, will be revamped to reflect an expanded range of products.

Village reaction

The village’s Planning and Development office is already working on ways to mitigate the two departures from the downtown business landscape.

“The Village was very disappointed to hear that two of our downtown businesses will be closing, although we understand that the owners have their reasons for making this hard decision,” said David Thurlow, Village of Potsdam’s Director of Planning and Development.

“I have been ramping up talks in recent weeks with building owners, entrepreneurs, and partner organizations to look for ways to refill storefronts downtown and support new business offerings and things to do,” Thurlow said. “There are three businesses I'm working with who have plans to open up downtown in the next year, and several more who are in the process of selecting a space. There has also been particular demand from folks looking for small places with commercial kitchens for new restaurants, though there are fewer spaces of this kind.”

Thurlow said his office can help businesses with low-interest loans, tax rebates, and grants, as well as simply offer guidance and helpful connections. 

“The Rebuild Downtown Potsdam program, which is part of Potsdam's DRI, still has Quick Start Grants available of up to $5,000 for downtown businesses to make facade improvements or buy necessary equipment. We are also finishing up four building renovation projects with the same program,” Thurlow said.

The planning and development director said his department has recently added a part-time project coordinator to help the village manage all of the different projects currently in the works in the village to redevelop the downtown business district.

“Potsdam is about to see significant new investment in the coming year. The DRI Streetscape, Riverwalk, Skatepark, and Branding projects all are accelerating quickly. Upgrades to the recreation center and a proposed pedestrian bridge at Fall Island are in the works, as well. And behind the scenes, we've been strengthening our partnerships with the local colleges and other organizations to do more outreach, promotion, and community event support. Our hope is that the entrepreneurs who come to fill our available spaces now will be in a great position to benefit from the improvements that are on the way,” Thurlow said.

Visit https://villageofpotsdamny.gov/economic-development/ to learn more about what assistance is available to start a business in the village, or reach out to Thurlow directly at 315-265-1670.

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