Bud’s Goods Dispensary in Watertown MA

Bud’s Goods, welcome to Bud’s House

Most dispensaries have a sales floor. Bud’s Goods Dispensary in Watertown MA has a porch, a pantry, a library and a living room. The store at 330 Pleasant Street is designed as “Bud’s House,” and its theme says it all: “Home is where your Bud’s are.”

Bud’s calls itself “Watertown’s Local Marijuana Dispensary That Sells Good Buds To Great Neighbors.” If you live in Watertown, Newton, Waltham or anywhere along the Charles, here is what to know before you visit.

A tour of Bud’s House

Founder and CEO Alex Mazin explained the layout to Watertown News when the store opened. “You walk in and get your ID checked on the porch,” he said. From there, the house is yours to explore:

The pantry holds consumables, drinks and edibles.
The library is where the smokeables live: flower, vapes, pre-rolls and concentrates.
The living room has accessories, merch and apparel.
The great room is where you check out.

Bud’s own website describes the same welcome: a porch to greet you, an edibles pantry, a flower library and a Provisions room for accessories and merchandise. The goal was a homey feel, and it shows. It is a fun way to shop, and an easy one to navigate on your first visit.

A dispensary inside an apartment building

Here is something you will not find many other places. Bud’s says the Watertown store is “the first cannabis retail dispensary in Massachusetts housed within a residential building.” It sits on the first floor of the Watermills Apartments, a mixed-use development on Pleasant Street. The store faces Pleasant Street, and customer parking is inside the complex, reached through the central driveway.

Open since 2022

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission lists 330-350 Pleasant Street as an active, licensed adult-use cannabis retailer, open since May 16, 2022. The store opened to the public a few days later, according to Watertown News.

Getting there took years. Watertown limits recreational cannabis stores to three, and Bud’s won one of those spots in December 2019, with final city approval in 2020. Mazin said the pandemic pushed the opening back by about a year. He also shared a fun bit of history: “Watertown was actually the first municipality we ever looked into trying to get approvals.”

Watertown was Bud’s third Massachusetts store, after Worcester and Abington. Mazin noted at the time that Bud’s would be “the only independent non-vertical operator to reach three retail licenses.”

Independent, and picky about products

Bud’s does not grow its own cannabis, and Mazin sees that as a strength. “We don’t make our own product, our job is to source and identify the best value and best products in the state,” he told Watertown News. That means the shelves are filled with products Bud’s has hand-picked from across Massachusetts, chosen for quality and value.

Value is a big part of the story. Mazin has long argued that legal cannabis should be affordable for everyone 21 and up, and Bud’s describes its aim as a premium experience without premium pricing.

Good neighbors, on paper too

Under its Host Community Agreement, Bud’s agreed to pay Watertown 3%, described by Watertown News as 3% of gross profits,, plus a $10,000 charitable donation each year, as reported by Watertown News. It is part of what Bud’s means by selling good buds to great neighbors.

A Worcester founder’s American dream

Bud’s Goods started with one person’s hometown dream. Mazin’s family came to Worcester from the former Soviet Union when he was 3, and he founded Bud’s in 2016 after studying at Babson College and working as a consultant in New York. He opened his first store in Worcester in 2020. “I’m just trying to live the American dream,” he told the Worcester Telegram.

Awards on the shelf

Bud’s has collected plenty of recognition. It was named Best New England Cannabis Company at the New England Cannabis Convention in 2021 and Independent Store Brand of the Year at the 2022 ADCANN Awards, where the judges wrote, “Warm & inviting, home truly is where your buds are.” Boston Magazine’s Best of Boston named a Bud’s store Best Weed Dispensary, South, in 2024.

Fighting for fair prices

Bud’s has been vocal about cannabis prices in Massachusetts. In a 2020 post on its blog, the company compared prices here with Colorado and found a one-gram pre-roll averaged about $18 in Massachusetts after tax, compared with about $10 in Colorado, even though the cost of living is only slightly higher here. High prices, the post argued, push shoppers back toward the illicit market. “Bud’s is working hard with wholesalers to bring these prices down so they’re fair and competitive with the illicit market,” Mazin said.

Tips for stretching your budget

The Bud’s blog also has a practical guide to saving money on cannabis in Massachusetts. A few of its tips are worth knowing before any dispensary run:

Buy in larger amounts. An ounce usually costs less per gram than an eighth, and it means fewer trips.
Try smaller buds. So-called popcorn buds cost less and, the blog says, are the same quality as larger ones.
Hunt for deals. Join loyalty programs and compare prices.
Store it right. Keep cannabis somewhere cool and dark to protect its terpenes.
Do not waste the end. A roach clip or a dry-herb device helps you use every bit.

The guide also reminds readers that cannabis cannot cross state lines, even between two legal states.

Packaged in Massachusetts

Bud’s has grown beyond retail. In late 2023 it announced a cannabis packaging facility in Lakeville, Massachusetts, serving cultivators and retailers across the state. According to Boston Magazine, the facility has helped Bud’s bring new products to market faster.

Order ahead or walk in

Bud’s offers online ordering for in-store or curbside pickup, and walk-ins are welcome. The company has apps for iPhone and Android, and gift cards are available online.

Who it serves

Bud’s Watertown says it serves shoppers from Boston, Newton, Belmont, Waltham, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville and Weston, as well as Watertown itself. The store is just minutes from the Charles River Greenway Bridge, near the Central Rock Gym.

Plan your visit

Address. 330 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA 02472, on the first floor of the Watermills Apartments.

Hours. Monday through Saturday, 10am to 10pm. Sunday hours vary by listing, so check the website before a Sunday evening visit.

Phone. (774) 500-2837.

Parking. On site, inside the complex through the central driveway.

Paying. Cash or debit, with an ATM on site.

Adults 21+. Bring a valid ID showing you are 21 or older. You will show it on the porch.

Service animals. Welcome.

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.
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.

Your first visit, step by step

Check the menu or app. See what is in stock and on offer.
Park inside the complex. Use the central driveway.
Show your ID on the porch. Then come on in.
Tour the house. Pantry, library, living room.
Check out in the great room. Cash or debit, with an ATM on site.

Make a day of it in Watertown

Watertown is a Middlesex County city of 35,329 people (2020 census), bordered by Belmont, Cambridge, Waltham, Newton and Boston’s Brighton neighborhood. The Charles River forms much of its southern and eastern edge. It was settled in July 1630 and incorporated that September, making it one of the first Massachusetts Bay Colony towns. In 1632, its residents protested a tax for a fort in Cambridge, an early American stand against taxation without representation.

History runs deep here. Watertown minutemen answered the Lexington alarm, and the Massachusetts Provincial Congress met in town during the Revolution. The Watertown Arsenal served the military from 1816 to 1995, and the site is now a hub for shopping, dining and the arts, including the Mosesian Center for the Arts.

Watertown is home to one of the largest Armenian communities in the country, along with the Armenian Library and Museum of America. Perkins School for the Blind is here too; Helen Keller attended its predecessor, the Perkins Institute. And most of Mount Auburn Cemetery, founded in 1831, lies within Watertown’s borders.

MBTA buses serve the city, centered on Watertown Square, and the Charles River paths make for an easy walk or ride. Streetcars on the Green Line’s old A branch once ran all the way to Watertown, until 1969. And in 2021, voters made it official: the town’s legal name changed to “The City of Watertown.” Its population has grown too, from 31,915 in 2010 to 35,329 in 2020, so there are more neighbors than ever for Bud’s to welcome home.

Why Bud’s Goods Watertown is worth the stop

A dispensary laid out like a home, inside an apartment building, run by an independent company that hand-picks its products and keeps prices fair: Bud’s Goods Watertown is one of a kind. Come up the porch and make yourself at home.

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