AYR Dispensary in Back Bay MA

AYR, cannabis on Boylston Street

Few dispensaries have an address like this one. AYR Dispensary in Back Bay MA sits at 827 Boylston Street in Boston, right across from the Prudential Center and next door to the glass-fronted Apple Store. When it opened in the summer of 2022, it became the first cannabis dispensary in Back Bay.

“We believe this will be one of our highest-traffic retail locations across the country,” AYR founder and CEO Jonathan Sandelman said when the state approved the store. If you work downtown, live in the neighborhood or are spending a day in the city, here is what to know.

Open since 2022

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission lists 827-829 Boylston Street as an active, licensed adult-use cannabis retailer, open since June 28, 2022. The commission granted the final license at its May 12, 2022 meeting, and AYR said its first adult-use sales in Back Bay began on July 2, 2022, the company’s first adult-use store in Greater Boston.

Getting there took a while. AYR signed its host community agreement with the City of Boston’s Cannabis Board in November 2020, and NBC10 Boston reported that the project faced years of debate and pushback from neighbors before opening. When it did open, it was one of only a few dispensaries within Boston city limits.

A grand opening on Boylston

AYR celebrated with a grand opening on Thursday, July 14, 2022, at Back Bay Social, a few doors down at 867 Boylston Street. At the time, Sandelman thanked the City of Boston, the Back Bay Association, the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay and local businesses, and said AYR wanted to be “a force for good throughout Back Bay.” He was confident about the spot, too: “our Back Bay store is in one of the busiest parts of Boston,” he said, adding that he believed it would be “one of the best-located dispensaries in the state of Massachusetts.”

Patch noted that the store sits between a Walgreens and the Apple Store, so it draws foot traffic from the mall, nearby restaurants and people out for a stroll.

A 4,500-square-foot flagship

The Back Bay store covers about 4,500 square feet, according to NBC10 Boston, which toured the shop just before it opened. AYR calls it its flagship. For a busy stretch of Boylston, that is a lot of room to shop.

A virtual line, like a restaurant

AYR planned for crowds from the start. Instead of a long line on the sidewalk, the store uses an online waitlist with a QR code. You check in and the system estimates your wait. “It’s exactly like a restaurant,” general manager Julia Crawford told NBC10 Boston. “Once you check in, it will tell you how long until you can come in the store.” That leaves you free to grab a coffee or browse Boylston Street while you wait, instead of standing outside.

Friendly, low-key budtenders

AYR describes its Back Bay team as “friendly and low key,” there to help you find something that fits. The store’s reviews tell the same story. One regular singled out a budtender as “an incredibly positive, informative and patient guy,” and wrote, “I know I’m in good hands and not being oversold.” Another reviewer kept it short: “Top service for tourists.” The store’s Google rating sits at 4.6 stars across hundreds of reviews.

AYR also points out that anyone 21 or older with a valid government-issued ID can shop here. “No card needed.”

Welcome Back Rewards

AYR’s loyalty program, Welcome Back Rewards, is open to anyone 21 or older in Massachusetts. You can join through the AYR app for iPhone or Android, or sign up online. Members earn points on every dollar they spend, and the rate climbs as you shop more over a rewards year, from 2 points per dollar up to 6. Points are redeemed in increments of 500 for $5 off, up to $50 off a single purchase.

AYR also offers in-store discounts in Massachusetts for medical patients, customers 50 and older, veterans and first responders, and students, and the company says rewards points can stack with them.

Giving back to the neighborhood

As part of opening in Back Bay, AYR pledged $100,000 a year in community investment, on top of the tax revenue the store brings to the city. Patch reported that the money goes to the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay each year. AYR team member Dwan Packnett described where it could go: “It would go toward homelessness, facade improvements, open space, really whatever the community desires.” He added: “Those are the types of things that will take away the stigma of cannabis.”

Crawford sees that shift already. “Cannabis has gotten a lot more normalized,” she said. “I think the harsh stigmas have gone away a little bit.”

Part of a national company

AYR Wellness is a multi-state cannabis company, and Back Bay was its first adult-use store in Massachusetts. Around the time it opened, the company also had host community agreements in Watertown and Somerville, and it later opened a Watertown dispensary in a renovated 1945 building that had been a flower shop. Today AYR’s Massachusetts adult-use stores include Back Bay, Somerville and Watertown.

What’s on the menu

AYR Back Bay sells flower, pre-rolls, vaporizers, concentrates, edibles, tinctures, topicals, accessories and apparel. The full menu is online, and you can order ahead for pickup. Menus change often, so check what is in stock before you go.

A neighborhood worth exploring

One of the best parts of shopping at AYR Back Bay is everything around it. You are steps from the Prudential Center and Copley Place malls and a short, pleasant walk from Newbury Street, one of the city’s best-known shopping streets. Make the dispensary one easy stop in a bigger day out: a morning on Newbury Street, lunch near Copley Square, an afternoon walk along the Esplanade and a quick visit to AYR on the way home. With the Green Line and Back Bay station so close, you may not need a car at all.

Plan your visit

Address. 827 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116, across from the Prudential Center.

Hours. Open every day, 10am to 10:45pm, according to AYR’s store page. Holiday hours may differ.

Phone. (844) 420-1140.

Getting there. Green Line stations at Copley, Hynes Convention Center and Prudential are all close by, and Back Bay station serves the Orange Line, Commuter Rail and Amtrak.

Lines. Use the QR code waitlist to check in and see your wait time.

Adults 21+. AYR Back Bay is an adult-use dispensary. Bring a valid, government-issued photo ID showing you are 21 or older.

Massachusetts cannabis basics

Here are the state rules from the Cannabis Control Commission:

Age. 21 or older, with a government-issued ID for every retail purchase.
Carrying. Up to two ounces in public.
At home. Up to 10 ounces, and anything over two ounces must be locked up.
Where to use it. Not in public places and not on federal land. That includes the Common, the Esplanade and Boylston Street itself.
In the car. No open containers in the passenger area. Use a closed container in the trunk or a locked glove compartment, and never drive under the influence.
State lines. It is illegal to take cannabis out of Massachusetts, and it cannot be mailed. Visitors flying home out of Logan, take note.

Your first visit, step by step

Check the menu online. See what is in stock.
Join the virtual line. Scan the QR code and check in.
Explore while you wait. Newbury Street and the Pru are right there.
Bring your ID. A valid, government-issued photo ID showing you are 21 or older.
Ask a budtender. Tell them what you are looking for.

Make a day of it in Back Bay

Back Bay is one of Boston’s most famous neighborhoods, and it was built on water. Until 1857 it was a tidal bay; a filling project turned it into land by 1882, and the work was finished around 1900 in what is now the Back Bay Fens. The result is rows of 19th-century brownstones, considered among the best-preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the country.

The landmarks are world class. Copley Square is home to Trinity Church, often called one of the finest buildings in America, and the Boston Public Library, a Beaux-Arts treasure. The John Hancock Tower is Boston’s tallest skyscraper, and the Prudential Tower anchors the Prudential Center right across the street from AYR. Commonwealth Avenue runs through the heart of the neighborhood with its long, tree-lined center mall, and the Charles River Esplanade, built after the Charles River Dam was finished in 1910, is a beautiful place for a walk along the water.

For shopping, Newbury and Boylston Streets are among the most fashionable in the city, and the Prudential Center and Copley Place malls are right next door.

Why AYR Back Bay is worth the stop

The first dispensary in Back Bay, a flagship store in one of Boston’s busiest shopping districts, a virtual line that lets you explore while you wait and a company that pledged to invest in the neighborhood: AYR Back Bay makes a cannabis stop part of a great day in the city. Head to Boylston Street, look for the store next to the Apple Store, and check in on the virtual line.

Cannabis is for adults 21 and over. Please consume responsibly.