A new retail cannabis dispensary is coming to the North Fork.
Dave Tubens, the founder and owner of Planet Nugg, the dispensary in East Farmingdale, plans to open a nearly 4,000-square-foot dispensary at 720 Main Road in Aquebogue, in the next three months.
“We’re going to be doing a vineyard style cannabis dispensary,” Tubens told LIBN. “And like our first store, it really is going to be more of an experience … where we’re going to be very educational.”
Tubens, who plans to hire at least 20 employees, likened the new shop to an Apple store. It’s a space where customers, when they walk in, are greeted by an expert – or in this case, a well-trained budtender with an iPad – and the merchandise is displayed by category.
“I’m a chiropractor by trade, and we built our practices based on patient education, and we definitely take the same approach” with retail dispensaries, he said.
“We believe that an educated consumer is definitely by far our best consumer,” he added, noting that his client base ranges from seasoned smokers to novice consumers alike.
“We love educating the customers about” the merchandise, whether it’s to address “anxiety, pain management or sleep disorders,” he said. “There’s something for everyone.”
Entrepreneurs who want to open a cannabis business in New York work with the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and local government offices as well as state agencies. Correct licensing, permits and insurance are all required.
Cannabis is a “burgeoning industry” that reached $1 billion in revenue in 2024, according to the OCM.
“This milestone is a testament to the resilience, hard work and innovation of cannabis entrepreneurs across New York,” OCM Acting Executive Director Felicia A.B. Reid said in a written statement about the revenue growth, in January.
Tubens said the Town of Riverhead “has been exceptionally cooperative and responsible” to work with, particularly in establishing zones that keep cannabis retailers away from schools and areas frequented by children, while also supporting the success of the businesses. “We knew exactly where the zone was,” Tubens said.
Still, it took him about a year to get to the cusp of opening, including closing on the building, and a lot of interior and external alterations, but no major construction, Tubens said about the building, which was once a restaurant. The vineyard-style décor will include cedar planks, with stone.
“We want it to blend in with the rest of the neighborhood,” he said. “We want to be good neighbors to everybody out there. We want it to be something that everybody there is proud of.”
The Farmingdale space has held educational seminars, including on Narcan, an emergency treatment to reverse drug overdoses, and working with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, and Tubens hopes to hold similar events on the North Fork as well.
And while his Farmingdale location is called Planet Nugg, the new space “might be called something along the lines of the North Fork Cannabis Company, or something vineyard-style.”
Cannabis retailers are mandated by the state to “only purchase from New York State growers,” Tubens said. “We’re definitely more excited to work with a lot of local growers that are out there and showcase their products.”
