New York's The Travel Agency added another No. 1 to its list of accolades, becoming one of the first licensed adult-use cannabis stores to open in the state in early 2023. It is the first recreational cannabis company to open three stores.
The nonprofit organization said in a press release that it is partnering with Chris Concannon, founder of Terrapin Greens LLC and one of 463 conditional adult-use retail dispensary licensees starting in 2022, to open the 5th Street Pharmacy in Manhattan on Wednesday. announced that they are opening a new store in town.
The new 3,300-square-foot store is also the first legal cannabis dispensary located between Rockefeller Center and Grand Central Terminal, between 47th and 48th Streets, the company said.
Concannon will be the owner and operator, but the store will operate under the travel agency's brand name as part of the licensing agreement, making the new store one of the travel agency's three directly operated stores in the state. will not be counted. A spokesperson confirmed this.
The travel agency's other two locations are in Manhattan's Union Square, which opened in February 2023, and in downtown Brooklyn, which opened earlier this year. In addition to the usual cash and debit card options for payment, the company can also accept credit cards from customers, the company said in a release.
Travel agency co-founder Paul Yau said the deal with Concannon is further proof that the company is fulfilling its stated mission of supporting social equity in cannabis. The Brooklyn shop is also the result of a partnership with CAURD licensee Robert Degen and his company GMDSS LLC.
Adult-use marijuana retail licensees are allowed to have up to three stores in New York, but travel agents currently own and operate only one store under a non-commercial license. be. This means the company can open two more stores on its own, and as many as it wants through brand deals similar to those with Concannon and Degen.
Even so, many other licensed cannabis retailers have struggled to raise the funds needed to cover construction costs and other costs to begin operations, so even so, there are still only 1 store. There are only places.
As of May 3, there were only 117 legally operating adult-use cannabis stores in New York state, with more stores opening each month, according to a press release from the state's Office of Cannabis Control. Officials estimate that these companies compete with at least 2,000 illegal sellers in New York City alone.
The travel agency has already grown to employ more than 200 staff across three locations, the company said.