07/30/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18spcbETGX/?mibextid=wwXIfr
The Cranston Cannabis files - Part 2: A private governor's luncheon with cannabis heavy weights at Spain restaurant.
A private business Luncheon for four established cannabis operators, Governor Dan McKee and a competitive state licensing window, That was very much open.
The former Pizza Hut at 1112 Reservoir Avenue is only one part of Cranston’s cannabis story. Directly across Reservoir Avenue sits Spain Restaurant. And on November 12, 2025, that restaurant reportedly hosted a private meeting involving Governor Dan McKee and leaders of Rhode Island’s established cannabis industry.
1/ According to reporting based upon records produced by the McKee Administration through an Access to Public Records Act request, the Governor’s calendar described the November 12 event as a:
“Private Business Lunch.”
The reported attendees were:
- Governor Daniel McKee;
- Joe Pakuris of Mother Earth Wellness;
- Nick Hemond of Solar Cannabis Co.;
- Ed Dow of Solar Cannabis;
- Ray White of Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center;
- Chris Vitale of RISE Dispensaries Warwick.
2/ This was not simply a lunch with people curious about entering Rhode Island’s cannabis market.
The attendees represented companies that were already operating inside it.
Mother Earth, Thomas C. Slater and RISE were among the first compassion centers authorized by the state to begin selling recreational cannabis on December 1, 2022.
3/ The timing matters.
The Cannabis Control Commission opened Rhode Island’s first competitive application period for new adult-use retail licenses on September 12, 2025.
Applications were due by December 29, 2025.
The private Spain Restaurant lunch occurred on November 12—47 days before the deadline, while prospective competitors were securing properties, financing businesses, obtaining municipal approvals and preparing applications.
4/ The venue was not an unrelated or neutral restaurant.
Spain Restaurant publicly identifies itself as a Rodriguez-family business.
Providence Business News previously reported that Theresa, Michael and Amanda Rodriguez—the owners of Spain Restaurant—partnered with Joe and Gina Pakuris and Eddie Keegan in Mother Earth Wellness.
5/ Rhode Island corporate records reinforce that overlap.
Mother Earth Wellness RI ’ state filing identifies:
- Joseph Pakuris as president and CEO;
- Michael Rodriguez as treasurer and director;
- Amanda Rodriguez as secretary;
- Gina Pakuris as a director.
The Governor therefore reportedly met cannabis executives at a restaurant owned by business partners of one of the dispensary operators attending the meeting.
6/ That fact does not establish that the Cranston proposal at 1112 Reservoir Avenue was discussed.
No public record reviewed so far proves that the Governor or the incumbent operators discussed:
- Ancora Partners;
- Flower & Pot;
- Robert Coupe;
- Wired 2Ten;
- the Cranston zoning certificate;
- the project’s alleged vested status;
- or the former Pizza Hut property.
But that is not where the investigation ends.
It identifies exactly what the public records must now answer.
7/ The public should know:
- Who requested the meeting?
- What was its stated purpose?
- Was there an agenda?
- Who selected Spain Restaurant?
- Which Governor’s Office employees attended?
- Were Cannabis Control Commission or DBR officials involved?
- Were notes or briefing materials prepared?
- What follow-up occurred?
- Who paid for the meal?
8/ The meeting also did not occur in isolation.
APRA-based reporting describes an earlier January 25, 2023 meeting involving:
- Governor McKee;
- then-Chief of Staff Antonio Afonso;
- Joe Pakuris of Mother Earth;
- cultivator Armand Lusi;
- and Kimberly Ahern, who was then working inside the Governor’s Office.
The reporting also describes a later Governor’s Office visit to Mother Earth Wellness.
9/ Ahern was subsequently nominated by McKee to chair the newly created Cannabis Control Commission on May 17, 2023.
The Commission would control the regulations and licensing process that determined when—and under what conditions—new competitors could enter Rhode Island’s adult-use cannabis market.
10/ The state’s implementation was already significantly delayed.
The Cannabis Act was signed in May 2022.
McKee did not nominate the Commission members until May 2023.
The Commission did not approve its first comprehensive adult-use regulations until January 2025.
The first new retail-license application window did not open until September 2025.
11/ On October 21, 2025, less than a month before the Spain lunch, McKee announced that Kimberly Ahern would leave the Cannabis Control Commission.
By that time, the competitive application window was already open.
Ahern had overseen the regulations, the social-equity certification process and the launch of the retail-license application period.
12/ Then came the November 12 private lunch.
Then came the December 29 application deadline.
Ancora Partners—using the proposed Cranston location at 1112 Reservoir Avenue—was among the applicants whose materials were later published by the Commission.
The state and municipal timelines were now converging.
13/ The companies represented at Spain also had their own regulatory history.
Official DBR records identify:
- a January 2025 consent agreement involving Mother Earth Wellness;
- a January 2024 consent agreement involving Thomas C. Slater;
- a December 2023 deficiency-correction agreement involving RISE;
- a December 2023 deficiency-correction agreement involving Solar Cannabis.
Those records do not prove the matters were discussed at Spain.
They do establish another necessary APRA category: communications between the Governor’s Office, DBR, the Commission and the attending companies concerning enforcement, compliance or licensing.
14/ The political-money trail also requires examination.
A campaign-finance complaint filed with the Rhode Island Board of Elections in June 2026 alleges that Friends of Dan McKee’s fourth-quarter 2025 report recorded post-lunch contributions including:
- Joe Pakuris — $2,000 on December 8;
- Nick Hemond — $500 on December 29;
- Ray White — $500 on December 30;
- Amanda Rodriguez — $2,000 on December 25;
- Maria Rodriguez — $2,000 on December 30.
15/ The same complaint alleges that the campaign report disclosed no payment to Spain Restaurant and reported no in-kind contribution connected to the November lunch.
That is an allegation submitted for investigation—not a finding that the Board of Elections has proven.
The underlying questions remain basic:
- Who paid?
- Was the Governor’s portion reimbursed?
- Was the gathering governmental, political or both?
- Was restaurant space, food or staff donated?
- Was any cost reported by the campaign?
16/ These are not trivial accounting questions.
Rhode Island campaign-finance law requires committees to maintain and report contributions and expenditures above statutory thresholds, including identifying their sources and recipients.
A private business lunch involving an elected official, political donors and regulated businesses requires a clear separation between:
- state business;
- campaign business;
- private hospitality;
- and regulated-industry access.
17/ What happened to the competitive licensing process after the lunch?
The December 2025 application period closed with Ancora and dozens of other applicants in the system.
But no applications were approved.
A federal court later prohibited the Commission from advancing the existing review and licensing process.
18/ In June 2026, state lawmakers passed—and McKee signed—legislation removing the challenged residency provision and replacing the original licensing process with a new one.
Applicants who had already paid fees, secured locations, negotiated leases and obtained municipal approvals were again left waiting while the established dispensaries continued operating.
19/ This does not prove that the Spain meeting caused the delays.
It establishes a documented imbalance in access:
The established cannabis operators already controlling the retail market reportedly sat privately with the Governor during an active application window.
New applicants were left to navigate:
- changing regulations;
- municipal zoning;
- expensive leases;
- construction obligations;
- application deadlines;
- ownership disclosures;
- litigation;
- and eventually a discarded application process.
20/ That imbalance becomes particularly important in Cranston.
Across the street from Spain Restaurant, Ancora Partners was relying upon a disputed municipal approval chain involving:
- a December 2023 application;
- a zoning ordinance adopted three days later;
- a January 2024 zoning certificate;
- an unexplained Building Department recusal;
- an April 2024 final-plan filing;
- and a possible April 2025 approval-expiration issue.
Yet the state application window continued through December 2025.
21/ The state must now disclose what it knew about the Cranston property.
When the Commission received Ancora’s application:
- Did Cranston confirm the January 2024 zoning certificate?
- Did Cranston disclose whether the DPR approval had expired?
- Did the City report any construction or extension?
- Who signed the municipal-compliance response?
- Did the Commission verify permits?
- Did the Governor’s Office receive information about the site?
- Was the project ever mentioned before, during or after the Spain lunch?
22/ The following records should be produced:
Governor’s Office
- calendar invitation;
- attendee list;
- purpose and agenda;
- emails and texts;
- briefing materials;
- staff notes;
- security-detail records;
- expense and reimbursement records;
- follow-up communications.
Spain Restaurant
- reservation records;
- invoice;
- payer;
- event agreement;
- discount or complimentary-service record;
- communications with attendees or campaign staff.
Cannabis Control Commission and DBR
- communications with every attendee;
- discussions concerning market expansion;
- license numbers;
- staggered licensing;
- competition and price compression;
- new applicants;
- Cranston and Ancora;
- enforcement and consent agreements.
Campaign records
- receipts;
- reimbursements;
- host lists;
- solicitation records;
- in-kind reporting;
- contribution bundling;
- event-related communications.
23/ The state should also disclose whether applicants outside the established retail group received comparable access.
How many applicants requested meetings with the Governor, his staff or the Commission?
How many were granted?
How quickly?
Who attended?
Were social-equity applicants and worker cooperatives offered the same opportunity to discuss the market privately?
24/ The unanswered question is larger than whether anyone mentioned the former Pizza Hut over lunch.
It is whether established cannabis operators received private access to the Governor during a live licensing process while prospective competitors were required to spend money, obtain municipal approvals and wait under rules that would later be changed or discarded.
25/ Across the street from Cranston’s proposed cannabis store, the Governor reportedly sat down with executives who were already inside Rhode Island’s protected retail market.
26/ SOURCE FILES AND REFERENCES
The central source for the November 12, 2025 meeting is Steve Ahlquist’s June 22, 2026 report:
“The Ma*****na Mafia: How McKee, Ahern, and the CCC Protect the Cannabis Retailer Oligopoly.”
Ahlquist reports that records released by the McKee Administration through an Access to Public Records Act request described the event as a “Private Business Lunch” at Spain Restaurant and identified McKee, Joe Pakuris, Nick Hemond, Ray White, Chris Vitale and Ed Dow as attendees.
A June 29, 2026 campaign-finance complaint published by Ahlquist repeats the meeting details and identifies the Friends of Dan McKee fourth-quarter 2025 report as the source for the post-lunch contribution amounts.
Until the underlying Governor’s Office APRA production is independently obtained and published, this thread relies upon reporting based on those records—not on a claim that Investigate Cranston presently possesses the complete production.
SOURCE: Steve Ahlquist, “The Ma*****na Mafia: How McKee, Ahern, and the CCC Protect the Cannabis Retailer Oligopoly.”
https://steveahlquist.substack.com/p/the-marijuana-mafia-how-mckee-ahern
27/ PRIMARY STATE LICENSING RECORDS
The following official records support the licensing timeline:
- Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission, September 12, 2025 press release:
The Commission opened the adult-use retail application period and established a December 29, 2025, 4:00 p.m. deadline.
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Press-Release--Cannabis-Control-Commission-Opens-Applications-for-Adult-Use-Cannabis-Retail-Licenses.html?aid=zrypllzHKec&soid=1140428935338
- CCC December 2025 Archived Redacted Adult-Use Retail Applications:
The Commission’s published records identify Ancora Partners LLC among the entities that submitted application materials.
https://ccc.ri.gov/adult-use-retail-license-application-information/december-2025-archived-redacted-adult-use-retail
- Ancora Partners LLC d/b/a Flower & Pot application materials:
The filings identify Lisa Pontarelli, David Rozen and Robert Coupe as members or interest holders.
The operating agreement included in the filing specifically identifies 1112 Reservoir Avenue in Cranston as the location for the company’s annual member meeting.
https://ccc.ri.gov/media/2366/download?language=en
- CCC Adult-Use Retail License Application Submission page:
The Commission stated that no applications had been approved and that a federal court order prohibited it from advancing the existing review and licensing process.
https://ccc.ri.gov/auapp
- June 2026 licensing-reset reporting:
The replacement legislation voided the original application process, authorized refunds and required the Commission to establish a new process after removal of the challenged residency requirement.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/refunds-way-regulators-reset-ris-cannabis-retail-licensing-process
28/ GOVERNOR AND COMMISSION RECORDS
Official Governor’s Office and Cannabis Control Commission records establish the implementation timeline:
- May 25, 2022:
McKee signed the Rhode Island Cannabis Act.
The law authorized adult-use cannabis and created a framework that included social-equity and worker-cooperative licenses.
https://governor.ri.gov/press-releases/governor-mckee-signs-legislation-legalizing-and-safely-regulating-recreational
- May 17, 2023:
McKee nominated Kimberly Ahern to chair the Cannabis Control Commission.
At the time, Ahern was serving as McKee’s deputy chief of staff.
https://governor.ri.gov/press-releases/governor-mckee-nominates-rhode-island-cannabis-control-commission-members
- January 8, 2025:
The Commission announced approval of its inaugural cannabis rules and regulations.
https://ccc.ri.gov/PressReleases
- September 12, 2025:
The first competitive retail-license application period opened.
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Press-Release--Cannabis-Control-Commission-Opens-Applications-for-Adult-Use-Cannabis-Retail-Licenses.html?aid=zrypllzHKec&soid=1140428935338
- October 21, 2025:
McKee announced that Ahern would leave the Cannabis Control Commission.
The Governor’s Office credited her with developing the regulations, launching the social-equity certification process and opening the retail-license application period.
https://governor.ri.gov/press-releases/governor-mckee-announces-chairperson-kim-ahern-conclude-tenure-rhode-island-cannabis
- November 12, 2025:
The reported Spain Restaurant lunch occurred while the competitive application period remained open.
https://steveahlquist.substack.com/p/the-marijuana-mafia-how-mckee-ahern
29/ SPAIN RESTAURANT AND MOTHER EARTH RECORDS
The ownership connection is supported by both reporting and state corporate records.
Providence Business News reported that Joe and Gina Pakuris and Eddie Keegan partnered in Mother Earth Wellness with Theresa, Michael and Amanda Rodriguez, identified as the owners of Spain Restaurant in Cranston.
https://pbn.com/mother-earth-wellness-set-to-begin-cannabis-sales-in-pawtucket/
The Rhode Island Secretary of State’s entity summary for Mother Earth Wellness identifies:
- Joseph Pakuris — president and CEO;
- Michael Rodriguez — treasurer and director;
- Amanda Rodriguez — secretary;
- Gina Pakuris — director;
- Joseph Pakuris — director.
That corporate record establishes a documented business overlap between Mother Earth’s leadership and members of the Rodriguez family associated with Spain Restaurant.
https://business.sos.ri.gov/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?FEIN=001750291
30/ DBR ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE RECORDS
The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation’s official cannabis-enforcement index identifies:
- Mother Earth Wellness — January 14, 2025 consent agreement;
- Thomas C. Slater Center — January 25, 2024 consent agreement;
- RISE Warwick/Summit Medical Compassion Center — December 18, 2023 deficiency-correction agreement;
- Solar Cannabis/Solar Therapeutics Rhode Island — December 28, 2023 deficiency-correction agreement.
The existence of those agreements does not establish that enforcement matters were discussed at Spain.
It supports requesting communications concerning enforcement, compliance and regulatory treatment involving the attending companies.
SOURCE: Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, Cannabis Enforcement Actions.
https://dbr.ri.gov/office-cannabis-regulation/cannabis-enforcement-actions
31/ CAMPAIGN-FINANCE RECORDS
The June 29, 2026 complaint identifies the Friends of Dan McKee fourth-quarter 2025 report as the source for the alleged post-lunch contributions, including:
- Joe Pakuris — $2,000 on December 8;
- Nick Hemond — $500 on December 29;
- Ray White — $500 on December 30;
- Amanda Rodriguez — $2,000 on December 25;
- Maria Rodriguez — $2,000 on December 30.
The complaint further alleges that the campaign report disclosed no expenditure to Spain Restaurant and reported no in-kind contribution connected with the lunch.
Those are allegations submitted for Board of Elections review.
They should not be described as proven violations unless and until the Board issues findings.
SOURCE: Steve Ahlquist, “I Filed a Campaign Finance Complaint Against Governor Dan McKee.”
https://steveahlquist.substack.com/p/i-filed-a-campaign-finance-complaint
32/ CRANSTON MUNICIPAL SOURCE PACKET
The Cranston portion of this thread should be accompanied by the municipal records already used in the separate 1112 Reservoir Avenue approval-system investigation, including:
- December 6, 2023 DPR pre-application record;
- December 15, 2023 application;
- December 18, 2023 zoning ordinance and legislative history;
- January 2024 zoning certificate;
- Building Department recusal correspondence or notation;
- April 2024 final-plan filing;
- DPR decision and approval conditions;
- construction, permit and inspection records;
- records addressing any extension or expiration of the approval;
- municipal documents submitted with or in support of Ancora’s state application.
These records should be uploaded as screenshots, PDFs or direct document links beneath the thread rather than merely described in the narrative.
33/ RECORDS STILL NEEDED
The remaining source gap is the most important one:
- the Governor’s actual November 12, 2025 calendar entry;
- the original APRA request;
- the Governor’s Office response letter;
- the complete APRA production;
- the calendar invitation;
- attached attendee or briefing documents;
- security-detail records;
- the Spain Restaurant reservation;
- the restaurant invoice;
- proof identifying who paid;
- expense or reimbursement records;
- Governor’s Office follow-up correspondence;
- DBR and CCC communications with the attendees;
- the official Board of Elections complaint file;
- any campaign response;
- any Board of Elections findings or disposition.
Those documents will determine whether the public record confirms only that the meeting occurred—or reveals what the meeting was actually for.
The thread should include this source appendix.
The major supporting records should also be placed in the comments or attached beneath the original post.
THE PUBLIC RECORD IS NOT COMPLETE UNTIL THE PUBLIC CAN SEE THE RECORDS.
The public deserves:
- the exact agenda;
- the exact attendees;
- the exact payer;
- the exact discussion;
- the exact follow-up;
- and the exact role—if any—played by 1112 Reservoir Avenue.
That is not speculation.
That is the unfinished public record.
And it belongs to the public.
What's going on in Rhode Island
What's going on in Cranston
Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins
Cranston City Hall
Cranston Herald
