Editor’s note: An updated version of this story is here.
SWANSEA — The town’s first and long-awaited cannabis dispensary, Ignited Culture, came in with a strong sense of market dynamics for selling marijuana. Six months later, the property that houses the business at 610 GAR Highway faces foreclosure.
Sullivan & Sullivan Auctioneers LLC will hold a live public auction on March 25, at 11 a.m. for the 9,000-square-foot commercial property that served as Suzuki Triumph dealership and later underwent massive renovations before being passed through the town’s zoning board.
The 3.61-acre property that includes two lots is described as a “prime investment opportunity” in auction advertisements is owned by Gabriel and Sabrina Ruz of Miami.
The owners have not yet returned a request for comment.
In a September 2025 interview just days after the soft launch of his business, Gabriel Ruz said he was intent on igniting a brand, and a community, with his first dip into the cannabis sales industry.
Then, Ruz said he had plans to build a second store in Rhode Island at the beginning of 2026, and a third location in Massachusetts was likely.
Currently, Ignited Culture is still open for business as of March 9. It’s unclear if the business will remain open when the property changes hands at the time of auction.
The auction slated for the end of the month will require that the highest bidder must place a $150,000 deposit, plus additional monies to bring the deposit up to 10% of the bid price, with a bank check by March 30.
The winner of the auction must pay the balance due within 30 days of the auction to the Boston-based law offices of attorney Thomas J. Moylan, the lawyer for the mortgagee.
According to Sullvan & Sullivan’s site, other terms may be announced at the time of sale.
At the time, New England Cannabis Corporation was the plaintiff in a lis pendens lawsuit, or litigation that is connected to the property’s title and acts as a warning to potential buyers. The 2017 lis pendens case, according to Bristol County Registry of Deeds records, likely indicates hurdles with regulatory zoning by-laws.
Discharge records for the suit are dated 2019.
During a March 2023 Special Town Meeting, Swansea voters approved a marijuana overlay district, which allowed NortheastCann, Inc., a business in which Ruz is named as an interested party, to act on plans to renovate the pre-existing building that housed the dealership.
At the time, NortheastCann held a provisional cannabis license for adult use and retail distribution from the state, separate from a license for cultivation or one needed to operate a manufacturing facility.
Roland G. Levesque a trustee of the Low Side Realty Trust and previous owner of the property since 2014, regained control of the property on Jan. 10, 2022, after paying owed property taxes of $15,248.27.
He was also named the debtor in a suit with Triumph Motorcycles America LTD, where he was ordered to pay $26,213.13 on July 16, 2021.
The mortgage was discharged by Saint Anne’s Credit Union in June 2022.