In Hashstoria’s Shadow, ‘The Station’ Cannabis Dispensary Opens in Newark’s Ironbound – Jersey Digs
Earlier this year, the closing of Hashstoria, a dispensary in downtown Newark, sent shock waves through the cannabis industry. Everyone was theorizing what exactly went wrong and whether the cannabis industry had reached a saturation point with too many licenses.
While all of this was happening, Markony Monteiro, 34, was quietly renovating an industrial building at 201 Wright Street, waiting for his chance to prove that with the right formula, a dispensary can survive in this new and uncertain industry. After a $400,000 inside-out renovation, The Station opened last weekend.
“It’s scary but at the end of the day there’s a big difference between me and Hashstoria,” Monteiro said at the grand opening of his dispensary. “I was born and raised here — these people trust me, and they’ve seen my journey.”
While Hashstoria built its brand on celebrities and hip-hop culture, Markony said he wants to focus on local connections. One of the walls inside the dispensary features images of local landmarks, like the Griffith Building and the Paramount Theater. In one frame is the cover of Jet magazine featuring former Mayor Ken Gibson. This is his thesis statement.
One of the main criticisms of Hashstoria was its prices — they were just too high. There were even reports of customers leaving the Broad Street shop and buying from street dealers. But in the Ironbound, Monteiro brings street credibility — he used to be a black-market dealer until he turned his life around after a three-year stint in prison.
“A lot of people look at dispensaries as expensive,” he said. “I want to bring people in and guide them to a product that will make them happy at the end of the day.”
One of the attendees at the grand opening was Markony’s longtime friend Kevin Hild, owner of The Smugglers Club dispensary in Elmwood Park, which is set to open soon alongside his affiliated cultivation facility in East Hackensack. Hild believes the future of a cannabis dispensary is owning both the means of production and distribution, a business model he believes could upend the industry.
“If you’re buying what everyone else is buying, then you’re doing what everyone else is doing,” Hild said. “But if you have a growing facility, you can make it hard to compete with your prices.”
This is the template that Monteiro hopes to follow in Newark, with his eyes on eventually owning a cultivation facility nearby.
Hild believes that the location of a dispensary is another factor that can determine whether a business lives or dies. With Hashstoria, its Broad Street location was near a church, and on a major thoroughfare; it became the subject of community pushback from members of a nearby congregation. That had contributed to the initial Planning Board denial and a costly delay in opening its doors that proved insurmountable.
The Station’s location, which is two blocks away from McCarter Highway, is tucked away in an industrial neighborhood. The dispensary gets its name from the freight rails that crisscross the East Ward and its proximity to Penn Station.
Markony said he used to pass by the location on his way to his mother’s job as a waitress at a nearby diner. “I’ve been down the street a hundred times,” he said.
The opening could be timely. This once-industrial neighborhood is quickly becoming residential, with a number of apartment buildings rising. One street away, a massive block-long apartment building is proposed, potentially bringing hundreds of new residents to this location. Although it has the potential to bring in more customers, Markony said he is cautiously optimistic.
“What happens if the market crashes and people can’t keep paying the rent?” he said.
On the top floor of the building is what will someday be a cannabis lounge. Markony, who is half-Portuguese, half-Brazilian, wants to recreate here the atmosphere of a social club, which are traditional to the Ironbound. “I don’t want people to sit in their car and smoke,” he said. “I’d rather them come upstairs.”
—
Have something to add to this story? Email [email protected].
Click here to sign up for Jersey Digs’ free emails and news alerts. Stay up-to-date by following Jersey Digs on Twitter and Instagram, and liking us on Facebook.
New Jersey’s go-to source for real estate and community development news.
