The Southampton Town Board on Wednesday voted to take legal action to block a cannabis dispensary from doing business in town — on the same day the retail shop, Brown Budda, opened its doors to customers for the first time.

The resolution, which the Town Board approved in the last minutes of its nearly three-hour-long meeting, allows Southampton Town Attorney James Burke to seek an injunction preventing Brown Budda, located at 1533 Country Road 39, from operating amid a monthslong battle between Southampton and the dispensary over the town’s permitting requirements.

Burke told Newsday on Wednesday that the town is still considering its options, including filing an injunction, noting that Southampton plans to take action “as soon as possible.”

“We don’t want any business opening up without the proper reviews and inspections, and none of that has happened yet,” Burke said, adding that he was authorized to bring an enforcement action “if it’s appropriate to do so.”

Brown Budda’s owners, business partners Marquis Hayes, a chef, and psychotherapist Kim Stetz, have tried to open the dispensary for more than a year. They received their license to sell cannabis products on June 14, 2024 from the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, Newsday has reported. Brown Budda opened for curbside pickup in October of last year, while waiting for town approval to let customers inside the store.

“We went with delivery because we thought we could get our business open as quickly as possible, but it’s been super hard with the Town of Southampton,” Stetz said on Wednesday, just after the dispensary’s “soft opening.”

Brown Budda sued Southampton in August, arguing that the town’s zoning rules — which require special permits — violate state law, Newsday previously reported.

That lawsuit is ongoing before federal court in the Eastern District of New York. Just a month later, Southampton, one of four Long Island towns that opted to allow recreational cannabis sales, awarded Brown Budda a special-use permit on Sept. 16 to open its business. But that permit included additional requirements, among them, building a sidewalk that would cost the dispensary $40,000, Attorney Christian Killoran, who represents Brown Budda New York LLC, previously told Newsday.

Killoran said of Southampton’s intent to file for an injunction: “We welcome going before the court as quickly as possible.”

Legal action against Brown Budda, Killoran added, would “only increase” the damages the business would seek.

“The town should be careful what they wish for.”

Killoran said the town’s permit requirements are preempted by state law, and the business, which has four employees, including Hayes and Stetz, opened Wednesday without meeting them.

“We’re very excited to have the retail portion of this business and this building open for customers to walk in,” Stetz said. “We’ve had more cars in the parking lot than we have ever had” before.

Stetz said she hopes to grow the business to between five and 10 employees during the off season, and up to 20 employees during the popular summer months in the Hamptons.

“This is a world class destination,” Stetz said. “People come here all year-round, and that’s why we chose Southampton.”