Facing limits, Cannabis shops seek growth in music studios and events
The proprietors of Capital Region recreational marijuana stores are working to carve out their niches.
Stage One Dispensary budtender JaySon DeShields, left, is seen with owner Josh Mirsky and budtender Scott Labreche, right, in the shop on June 13 in Rensselaer. DeShields and Labreche host a podcast about New York’s cannabis scene.
ALBANY — Capital Region cannabis shop owners, wary of upcoming competition and advertising limits, are finding ways to stand out. Some are creating small music recording areas, while others are hosting events to promote their goods.
Since last spring, the number of licensed shops in the region offering marijuana products for recreational use has grown to 13, making up a small share of the 139 in New York, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management. A handful of owners interviewed by the Times Union mostly said they are pleased with the number of customers visiting their stores, noting they have seen both new and experienced cannabis users spanning different age groups.
Even so, some of them have said they face strict advertising rules, leading to storefronts that passing drivers may not immediately recognize as cannabis shops. Additionally, they mentioned social media posts made to connect with customers have been taken down by some platforms.
The Office of Cannabis Management did not provide a representative for an interview to discuss its cannabis rules and the reasons behind them or respond to emailed questions.
Owners of Leafy Peaks, Daniel and Kerrie Brown, say Facebook has flagged some of their promotional posts, and they have found more success advertising their cannabis products at monthly car shows outside their Waterford store. Meanwhile, the Loudon Plaza-based Royale Flower in Albany has hired food trucks to attract customers, but owner Christine Richardson hopes for a new program to replace the recently ended “Cannabis Growers Showcase” that would allow the store to sell products at events.
At the back of Northern Lights NY Dispensary in Menands is a room with tie-dye paneled ceilings and psychedelic Grateful Dead-themed artwork. During a May visit, a West African drum and an acoustic guitar were seen in a corner next to a PA system. The store began hosting open-mic nights later that month.
“What I’d really like is for bands — they’re doing something in this area, they’ve got a gig that evening — it’d be great for them to pop in here for an hour, warm up, do their thing,” said owner Joseph Kelley, adding that the store also has recording equipment for producing music.
At the storefront, windows are tinted to comply with state rules prohibiting marijuana products from being visible from the outside. But the windows of the tie-dye decorated backroom, facing the well-commuted Broadway route to Albany, are transparent, providing a way to draw eyes to the property, despite state rules, Kelley said.
Northern Lights, he said, has averaged up to 213 daily transactions since it opened in February. On 4/20 — recognized by some as a national day to celebrate cannabis — people smoked marijuana outside the store behind rented U-Haul trucks for an event that drew 424 retail transactions. With the music room and plans for a patio area, Kelley hopes to give customers reasons to spend time at the store.
“This is new to everybody. We don’t know where this is going. And I’d be a fool to be one of the pioneers in this industry and to just sit back,” Kelley said. “Probably by the end of the summer, if not mid-summer, there’s probably going to be 35 dispensaries in the Albany area.”
On the other side of the Hudson River in Rensselaer sits Stage One Dispensary, offering a different vibe from the psychedelic country rock music often heard at Northern Lights. On a recent Saturday, a widescreen TV played the music video of “Flava In Ya Ear” by Craig Mack and The Notorious B.I.G., along with other popular '90s hip-hop tracks.
Like many shops in the Capital Region, Stage One identifies itself on its sign only as a “dispensary” to comply with state rules that prohibit it from “depicting” cannabis or marijuana in its marketing, making it difficult to tell on first glance from outside that the store sells marijuana.
Still, having opened last summer, the store shows signs of being an established shop, with groups of friends and couples often seen browsing its products on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Co-owner Josh Mirsky said the shop has benefited from its location less than two miles from the MVP Arena in Albany, drawing customers before and after shows. State workers have also frequented the store, which is about a six-minute drive from Empire State Plaza and the state Capitol, he said.
Near the TV displaying hip-hop music videos, another shows Mirsky and two store managers, JaySon DeShields and Scott Labreche, hosting a podcast about New York’s cannabis scene. A clip from the weekly show posted on TikTok that recommended chewing peppercorns to mitigate feeling sick after indulging in too much weed, or “greening out,” drew around 1.4 million plays.
“We have a few viral clips on TikTok,” Mirsky said. “But what we found is that a couple of them got taken down because there was smoking in the clip. So now, the editor has to zoom in to make sure that there’s no lit joint or anything in the clip.”
Despite his shop’s prime location and podcast work, Mirsky said front-end staff have reported that most visitors have discovered the store through word-of-mouth or a Google search rather than, say, stopping in to check it out after they’ve stumbled on it by chance. But he plans to officially open a podcast studio above the store for people to book as a music recording space this summer.
“We’re going to do events up there because we’ll have a big live room, record bands, but also do kind of like small, niche get-togethers that are sponsored by brands,” said Mirsky, who previously ran a recording studio in Albany for more than a decade. “Maybe educational seminars up there, anything that you could do in any other recording studio.”
On a Saturday in May, Alexander Davis, 22, of North Greenbush was at the store picking up an order for a friend. While some marijuana shop owners are anxiously preparing for an influx of competitors, Davis told the Times Union that more competition is leading to new products.
“I’ve tried so many different things, even new forms of THC,” Davis said. “I’ve tried mints, drinks. Stuff I’d never even thought I’d try so it’s really cool.”
