By West Side Rag
Good Company is a new cannabis dispensary on the Upper West Side, but it’s looking to be more than that in the neighborhood.
The store at 2273 Broadway, between West 81st and 82nd streets, is also a place where you can listen to old records, sit and read a book, do yoga, or attend a speed friend-making event.
Chris Collado, Good Company’s general manager, told West Side Rag that the emphasis on connecting with the Upper West Side is twofold.
“The first part is knowing that not everybody is super open about cannabis, so we want to make sure we’re connecting with people to make it clear that we’re not just here to sell weed,” Collado said. “The other piece is to show people that we’re here to be involved and invest in the neighborhood.”
Along with the many marijuana options, Good Company uses its space for a number of social events, such as an astrology gathering on August 22 and a book swap on August 28.
“We’ve designed the store to make it feel not like a typical dispensary, or what people think of when they think of a dispensary,” Yin Lin, one of the ownership partners at Good Company told the Rag. “We want to change the narrative and experience around consuming cannabis. Even, though, we’ve had so many years of legalization, there is still a lot of stigma that we are battling, and we really want people to feel comfortable in our space.”
WSR: Why did you choose to open on the Upper West Side?
Lin: We love the neighborhood. One of our partners lives in the area. We understood that it was a great neighborhood to have a store. It was definitely a targeted approach in finding this storefront.
Good Company replaced a pilates studio and a Mattress Firm.
WSR: How has the reception been since opening?
Collado: One of the big things about us is that we’ve become a neighborhood hub of sorts. Seems like we’ve been welcomed with open arms, which is not always the case with dispensaries. We really want to be an environment where people come in and feel like they are in “good company.”
WSR: And what is your message to someone who has maybe been interested in cannabis, but never stepped into a dispensary?
Collado: Education is power. Inform yourself first. We’re not a medical dispensary; we’re recreational, but there are still medicinal purposes with all cannabis. Aside from the cannabis component, we’re a space where you can come and hang out. This is our space. We treat it like a home. When you have a guest that comes into your home, you don’t make it so your guest has to go into your fridge; you offer them something. It’s the same concept we use inside the store.
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But… we’re really here to sell weed.
For whatever it is worth, I went to the store today. They have vinyl records and books for sale (in addition to cannabis) and are having a listening party on August 21.
A listening party. I wish someone would listen to people who do not want to inhale others’ smoke and just stop it.
Please no more pot shops. They just bring crime.
they bring it where?
Can you quantify, back this up, or should we just take your word for it?
Can you distinguish between a legal and an illegal dispensary?
Please tell us how much crime has increased due to the advent of pot shops.
Haha!! From my experience from many years ago, people doing pot aren’t likely to do much more than just chill out after doing pot! Certainly not violent criminals!!
it’s more that other criminals break in and steal the money and drugs, like happened to shop near McDonald’s
This store is within a half a mile of three other stores on Broadway, on 72nd St. and on 86th St. That’s at least seven legal pot shops in the neighborhood now between 65th St. and 99th St. All while the black market is still thriving. Hard to believe that it’s sustainable.
Weed has overtaken alcohol and tobacco as the most commonly used drug on a daily basis…don’t see the dispensary trend slowing down anytime soon
I’ve seen this stat in several publications but it’s always “Daily users” of both. (Seems someone generated a data point and all the media outlets jumped on it.) But I’m not sure it’s true for total occasions. I believe total Alcohol usage occasions are still higher.
Recent business articles note the black market is declining in NYC and elsewhere in the US due to (1) convergence of pricing with legal stores seen as safer by consumers; (2) expansion of legal stores, many part of regional and national chains; and (3) policing/shutdown of illegal operations. We’ll see what the market can bear: how many liquor stores are between 65th and 99th?
Rachel, are plenty of older people who use cannabis for medical reasons and find these stores to be convenient and others who use it for relaxation and pleasure so your assumption that all older people are against the stores is not founded in fact. But, no matter what someone’s age, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and shouldn’t be age-discriminated and wished to be dead because they may have an opinion that differs from yours. How would you like it if someone said to you, “Just grow up!”
I guess Rachel’s comment was deleted. I saw it. Sounds like she could use a good joint.
This is getting insane. Yes, smoking weed is legal. These dispensaries are not good for our neighborhood, or any neighborhood. Actually, I think 1 or 2 are necessary but the amount we have is insane, though I viodily there is a market for it.
I don’t understand how we went from “cigarettes are evil and disgusting and no one can smoke anywhere” to “cigarettes are still disgusting but vaping and smoking everywhere,THAT is a good thing.”
Who’s Rachel? Was her comment removed before Susan replied with her own sensible comment?
Thankfully it was removed. I was about to write to WSR about that comment. They don’t publish lots of totally normal comments because they are not in line with their narrative but published the comment where Rachel referred to seniors as “… grumpy old sourpusses overstaying their time on earth…”. Her nana must be proud.
We should set her up with a certain former docent from St. John the Divine.
Is this a fully licensed legally sanctioned dispensary? i.e. licensed by the state/city? If not, perhaps you should focus on the places that are, like Flower Power at 22 West 66th, The Flowery on Broadway and 91-92nd, etc.
I would sincerely hope that West Side Rag would not do a feature like this on a place that isn’t a fully licensed and legal dispensary!
Fun to comment on comments that aren’t there so as to slam dunk on them.
Haha! So much confusion associated with this !!
I’m not confused. I was trying to be polite to Wendy. The dispensary profiled in this piece is obviously fully licensed and legal.
I don’t use cannibus myself but I think this is a good thing. Gen Z drinks much less than older generations and has replaced that with pot. But pot smoking or taking gummies is more of a solitary activity or one done with a couple if friends at home. What we are losing is the corner bar and drinks with your coworkers in Thursday nights. Society needs more places for people to gather and collectively unwind.
Agree about the social aspect. What bothers me is that we as a society talked about the dangers of alcohol for a long time but not so much weed now. I really wish we treated weed more like alcohol, in all ways.
there aren’t enough studies done, but I can tell you from regular pot smokers I know, it is not a good thing if done daily. Really, really makes people slow on the uptake.
Please — drink alcohol. Or if you want marijuana — gummies. Or if you are going to SMOKE it, JUST DON’T EXHALE. Kill yourself, not me. My poor lungs need OXYGEN. Tired of walking around the neighborhood being subjected to everyone’s stuff.
I do smell it often but it’s not preventing anyone’s lungs from getting oxygen.
It’s hard to take such hysterical posts seriously.
Hysterical and bitter.
My post isn’t ‘hysterical’. Google secondhand marijuana smoke. Secondhand marijuana smoke is the mix of smoke from a burning cannabis product and smoke breathed out by a user. It contains toxic chemicals, cancer-causing agents, and THC. Breathing it can cause lung irritation, heart strain, and trace THC exposure, posing risks similar to tobacco smoke
It seems that gathering collectively has faded out which is sad. The younger generation appear to enjoy using phones to connect with life/friends these days. Meeting up after work in New York was the thing before!! Life changes and people move on.
I love that in the email from the WSR, the headline linking to this piece was followed by an announcement for upcoming High Holy Days.
The New York State legalization of cannabis is a step back in civility. Now not only do I have to walk through a cloud of tobacco smoke. I’m forced to walk through clouds of marijuana smoke. I find it nauseating, disgusting.
The smell of cannabis is nauseating. Absolutely disgusting. No one seems to care about the people like me who are sickened by it and forced to breathe in the putrid smell practically everywhere they walk lately.
The funny thing is that because of the legalization of weed and the ubiquitousness of e-cigarettes / nicotine vaping use by young people, smoking marijuana has absolutely been a gateway drug to tobacco smoking / traditional cigarettes. Evidence: go outside, be around young people and old enough to have seen the resurgence of smoking in public of weed/cigarette or vape. The impact from second hand smoke from all this “awesome legalization” for everyone else is NEVER mentioned nor given a second hand thought. Meanwhile that was a HUGE part of deterring people from smoking / building up a culture that didn’t want smoking to be commonplace in shared spaces. And, the wrapping of marijuana in healthy industry Magic bullet nonsense is a massive gift to the tobacco industry. Marijuana makes strange bedfellows…
Vaping is also really bad. Second-hand vape aerosol (often called vapor) is not just harmless water vapor. When a person exhales an e-cigarette cloud, it releases nicotine, ultra-fine metal particles, volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing chemicals into the air that nearby people can breathe in.
People can vape anywhere and you don’t even know you’re inhaling their ‘exhale’. Restaurants, theaters, stores, doctors’ offices, anywhere. Why do these things exist? It’s a hopeless sad situation.
I think this is an inviting scene.
Lipstick on a pig
It seems that the smell of weed can be almost on any block nowadays. Not that I’m wondering why…
Looks like there’s a definite correlation between weed and Twinkies
Excellent info always. We rely on the Rag now for local news. Keep up your good work !
I saw them having their read a thon or whatever it was, people sitting and reading, of which I approve, but I wonder how much they understood what they were reading, since under the influences of substances. We act like weed is harmless- it is not. Try living with someone who has this addiction. It kills brain cells, ambition, critical thinking. It is not something people should do on the regular. I don’t think I am superhuman because I do not drink or do any kind of drugs, they just don’t agree with my system, plus I like being clear headed and energetic and not hung over…I think people should strive to not do these things- life is full of pleasures big and small if you are sober!
Agree completely, and then some.
Funny how people spend their money on such insanity and then cry that they’re in debt or can’t afford such and such…….
Give 12 step meetings a shot: life on life’s terms….. (conscious!)
What a wonderful addition the neighborhood!
We are living in the ruins of civilization.
Read a book? Hilarious! I can’t stop laughing, and I’m not stoned.