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New Jersey’s 30th recreational cannabis dispensary had its grand opening recently, showcasing a new customer experience we haven’t seen here before.
When I walked into the Nova Farms dispensary in Woodbury, my first thought was how different it looked from any other adult-use retail space I had seen so far in the state. The combination of green neon signage and hand-painted murals gave an immediate departure from the usual.
The brightly lit, carefully curated environments of many of the other 30 dispensaries has been said to be reminiscent of Apple Stores or Urban Outfitters. Consumers have even likened their legal weed buying experience to visiting a bank, often devoid of personality.
This place was most definitely not like that.
This is what Nova Farms COO Blair Fish told me at the June 10 grand opening about the remarkable difference in this store’s vibes and brand culture.
“We wanted to do something completely fresh, a total contrast to other spaces. We wanted to bring New Jersey quality products, thoughtfully curated, for an experience unlike any other,” he said.
The small, rectangular and dimly lighted room gave the feel of an underground art gallery. A mixture of flatscreens hanging on the walls played rap star Redman videos on a loop. Deals and product info scribbled in neon green marker on blacked-out walls accentuated gleaming displays of cannabis products, branded merchandise and accessories.
Still just as high-tech as the competition, the store offered iPads along the entrance wall for ordering from the menu and a U-shaped row of checkout computers in the center of the room, each manned by a friendly budtender.
The store’s “gas station” — the area where the budtenders picked up each order before checking a customer out — is by the front wall, in the middle of a space-themed mural.
Three shelves of artful glass smoking pieces of all shapes and sizes from the Rukus Gallery, Philadelphia’s largest headshop, adorned the back wall. As part of its grand opening celebration, Nova Farms raffled off a $2,000 bong modeled after a Super-soaker water gun, dubbed the “Super-Smoker.”
On either side of the glass pieces are displays of nationally popular brands like Cookies, Gage and Miss Grass. To the right of the display area is a mirror for selfies with another neon sign reading “but you’re like really pretty,” the now-famous line from the movie “Mean Girls.”
Another neon “peace out” message in both words and rabbit-ear hand symbols on the exit door wished customers farewell. Nothing in the space felt overdone; not the people or the product presentation, not even the textured green turf wall art.
To remedy the long line, management was outside offering yet more iPads for online pre-ordering, or encouraging customers to visit the website to expedite their entry into the facility.
I easily hopped on my phone when I was in the line and selected a few items from the menu: a five pack of Verano Swift Lift pre-rolled joints in the strain Orange Soda ($40); a 20 pack of 5 mg Guava Go Bits soft lozenge edibles ($35), also from Verano; a 30 pack of plant-based pills for brainpower called Genius Drops ($35) by 1906 brand; and a gram of MPXNJ Black Label shatter in the strain Slurricane ($70, 1 gram), for dabbing and vaping.
I ended up doing a separate cash transaction for a booklet of organic hemp sheets and filters ($5) by ZZZ’s Rolling Paper Company featuring the artwork of artist Illustraweed.
When I asked the store’s general manager, Emily Cerana, about the displays of artful booklets on the checkout counter, she told me that “the partnership with Massachusetts artists is one of the vital parts of the curated experience. Nova is all about bringing a unique collection of products to the New Jersey consumer. Each booklet has a QR code that links to the artists’ work.”
I was able to get good service from my budtender, Stephy, when it came to the shatter. I had originally selected a live resin sugar in my pre-order, believing that it was truly an infused sugar that I could dissolve into my coffee or tea.
Luckily, I thought to ask Stephy before she went to grab my order from the gas station; she let me know that this sugar was actually a cannabis extract like the shatter, except broken down to a fine powder. As that was not what I was looking for, she suggested that a dabbing beginner like me get the shatter instead. She switched the products in my order quickly and without hassle. After taxes, I paid $195 with my debit card.
As I walked back around the building to the parking lot, a couple of local law enforcement officers smiled and waved at me. Even the security at the event felt peaceful.
Nova Farms had the event catered with sliders from Jeremiah’s Food Truck and snow cones from Maui Ice. Attendees repeatedly expressed their happy surprise when they were informed that all the food was free. They could even play games at a tent also set up in the back of the parking lot for a chance to win free branded merchandise from Higher Breed.
Part of the entertainment was a DJ blasting tunes and local craftsman Matt Catenacci blowing glass pieces, live. I ended up purchasing a hat and Higher Breed button-down shirt, as well as a one-of-a-kind, one-hitter pipe from Matt.
Most of the attendees were actually there to take pictures and get autographs from rapper, “How High” actor and Jersey-native Redman.
His meet-and-greet session drew a line of people wrapped around the backside of the dispensary for a couple of hours. Some of them actually ended up visiting the inside of the dispensary, as the line to enter got very long at the end of the event. I was able to get a hug and a photo.
Overall, the experience made me want to linger each time I entered the sales floor (I went in and out of the space three times before making my purchase). The vibe was inviting, the product information and service was excellent and the range of available products and their pricing was not out of the realm of expectation.
I recommend a visit if you’re ever in Gloucester County looking for cannabis. It is definitely a unique experience among the dispensaries scattered throughout the state.
Have a question about consuming weed? Ask me anything.
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Gabby Warren is NJ.com’s Cannabis Life reporter. She’ll be covering all things weed retail, commerce and culture. Send your weed consumer questions to @divix3nation.
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