Montclair Cannabis Shop Gets Green Light, Two More in Works – Montclair Local News
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Cannabis customers can expect more options in Montclair following the Planning Board’s approval Monday of Night Owl’s retail shop for part of the Bloomfield Avenue space once occupied by a CVS pharmacy.
Night Owl, which hopes for a summer opening, is one of three cannabis retailers the township expects to soon pop up in Montclair. All the shops have chosen to locate on Bloomfield Avenue.
The shop coming to 516 Bloomfield Ave. will be footsteps from the French-Asian inspired bakery Tous les Jours, which in 2024 opened at the former Lululemon space next door. Approval of the new location follows Night Owl’s prior plans to open in the former DLV Lounge space, also on Bloomfield Avenue.
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“Part of the growing process of this rollout of cannabis in Jersey is that the state did so much and then it left it to the municipalities, once they opted in, to mold their particular programs,” Eric Payne, owner of Night Owl, said in an interview Tuesday. “We’ve been able to grow with the town as they’ve modified and developed their cannabis rollout.”
Night Owl LLC’s plans call for a 356-square foot waiting area in the front of the store with two entries from that area into the cannabis retail area. That retail area will include display cases, registers and a handicapped accessible bathroom, a planning report says.
Payne is a Newark native who grew up in Maplewood and has lived in Montclair for the past 12 years. A 40-year-long career actor, Payne started in the entertainment business working with director Spike Lee, he said.
At the meeting, Payne told the board he received the township’s cannabis license and is in the process of obtaining a state cannabis license. The planning board’s formal action authorizes a conditional use permit for the facility. He confirmed there will be no consumption at the shop, only sales.
‘Marijuana Alley’
Board members discussed the placement of the shop on Bloomfield Avenue. The thoroughfare will soon be home to cannabis retailer Kush Connection, planned at a former car dealership’s location at 665-679 Bloomfield Ave.
And a third cannabis license-holder has secured a lease on the former Dunkin’ Donuts location at 586 Bloomfield Ave., adjacent to Midland Avenue, said First Ward Councilor Erik D’Amato, who sits on the planning board. Officials did not discuss specifics of that location.
However, board member Anthony Ianuale noted the proximity.
“Marijuana alley, right down the (avenue),” Ianuale replied, then asked: “Are you concerned about that?”
Montclair Director of Planning and Community Development Janice Talley said the township can only designate broad areas where it will permit cannabis shops.
“We don’t dictate where they locate,” Talley said. “We only dictate by zoning which zones they can be permitted in.”
Follows Ascend’s Departure
Approval of Night Owl this week and Kush Connection over the summer follow the departure of Ascend Cannabis, which left its Montclair location, also on Bloomfield Avenue, in 2023. New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana in 2020 but left it to local towns to opt into permitting sales and iron out other details.
“Montclair taking its time the way it did probably developed the best rollout,” Payne said. “There were a couple of bumps in the beginning. But people just had to learn their way through it.”
Montclair Local asked about the proximity of Night Owl to the bakery and opportunities to capitalize on the appetite-increasing effects of cannabis — the “munchies.”
“We’re two separate businesses, but it certainly looks like you could do some cross-promotion, I suppose,” Payne said. “We’re going to do our business; we’re focusing on the cannabis stuff. And we’ll let them focus on the baked goods.”
Email reporter Matt Kadosh at matt@montclairlocal.news
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