New Día, the cannabis retailer that anchors a busy block next to Fenway Park, is fighting back in court after a lender asked a Suffolk Superior Court judge to wrest control of the business through receivership. The Fenway shop says the lender has not proved a default and is pushing to keep operations under its current owners.
New Jersey-based lender EMES Equities and its affiliate EMES New Día filed papers last week asking the judge to appoint a receiver, arguing that New Día is in default on more than $8 million and owes over $5 million in rent to landlord Cask 'N Flagon, according to Axios. New Día disputes those claims in its own filings and has moved to block the request. Attorneys for EMES and Cask 'N Flagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company traces its roots to Worcester, where it opened in 2021, before expanding to the Fenway in 2022. The Boston location markets itself as a large “cannabis mall” and lists a Lansdowne Street storefront on its website. The city’s host community agreement for New Día lays out the company’s local licensing and operating terms, including conditions specific to the Fenway site, according to Boston.gov.
The EMES filing lands in the middle of a broader shakeout in Massachusetts’ cannabis market. Earlier this spring, the Pure Oasis storefront closed amid mounting debts and a frozen bank account, and industry coverage counts more than three dozen cannabis businesses that have shuttered so far this year, according to Axios.
What a receivership would mean
If the court appoints a receiver, that person or firm could step in to run the business, manage its assets and finances, and would have to comply with the Cannabis Control Commission’s reporting and licensing requirements. The Commission has been tracking these cases and listed 31 licenses under receivership in a recent public meeting packet, which also spells out duties, reporting obligations, and compliance expectations for receivers in marijuana businesses, according to the Cannabis Control Commission.
New Día and EMES are scheduled to appear in Suffolk Superior Court on Friday for a hearing that could determine whether the Fenway flagship stays with its current ownership or moves into court-appointed control. For now, the case is another sign of financial strain across the state’s cannabis sector, with employees and customers waiting to see which way the judge leans.
