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International cannabis lifestyle brand Cookies celebrated the opening of its first retail shop in New Jersey recently with a celebrity meet-and-greet, food trucks and hip-hop expertly mixed by DJ Lord Sear from Sirius XM.
The line to get onto the sales floor of the Harrison store on Sept. 15 was more than 100 people strong, as merch-clad fans waited to purchase weed and pose for photos with chart-topping rapper and the co-founder of Cookies, Berner.
The Cookies Harrison store, at 335 Angelo Cifelli Drive, is open daily from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. For more information, call (973) 266-5437.
This shop, right across the street from the Harrison Path train station, features artwork commissioned just for this Cookies and a budbar where customers can see and smell the strains of available flower.
The store, a 15-minute walk from the Red Bull Arena and a short-drive to beloved Garden State restaurant, Top’s Diner, is one of several retail shops and restaurants located on the first floor of an apartment building. The neighborhood is made up of more residential and retail combination buildings.
Cookies co-founder and CEO Berner cut the ribbon and greeted fans at the Cookies Harrison legal weed shop on Sept. 15.
The Cookies brand began when Berner, and his partner and grow expert Jai, started growing their first cannabis plants in a garage in San Francisco. Responsible for cultivating strains such as Girl Scout Cookies, Cherry Pie, Sunset Sherbet, Gelato and Biscotti, the duo made permanent marks on the cannabis industry. These are the cultivars that lend their genetics to create the top-shelf varieties that dominate today’s market.
Today, Cookies has grown to be the most globally recognized cannabis brand in the world, with over 45 retail locations across five countries.
Headquartered in San Francisco, they offer a collection of over 70 proprietary cannabis cultivars and more than 2,000 products, which they control from seed to sale. Perhaps just as popular as their weed products, the branded merchandise includes multiple lines of accessories and clothing.
The vibe of the Harrison store was hype during the opening celebration. With the DJ playing some of my hip-hop favorites, classics like Jay-Z’s “D’Evils” and The Lox and Lil’ Kim’s “Money, Power and Respect”, my head couldn’t stop bobbing as I took in the aesthetic. It was packed with fans and media, and the line to purchase snaked from the cashier’s counter, around the budbar in the middle of the room and almost out of the doors to the lobby.
Cookies co-founder and CEO Berner cut the ribbon and greeted fans at the Cookies Harrison legal weed shop on Sept. 15.
I was almost thankful the line was so long, because it gave me time to smell through the silver, blue and white budbar. After smelling each jar, I decided based on aromas alone that I wanted to try the Mexican Flan and the 2090 Sh*t, but only if they had pre-rolled joints.
Before I got in line, I had cruised the room and saw from their floor-to ceiling product displays that they had the Wana brand 20:1 CBD to THC edibles I had been meaning to grab to help me sleep. I was also intrigued by all the product packaging and artwork, and decided to get some branded merch.
Cookies carries brands such as Airo, 1906, Anthologie, Black Label, Santa Cuz Shredder, Ozone and Kind Tree. They had branded accessories like designer ashtrays, rolling trays, glassware storage bags and clothing available as well.
The store had signs up saying it was cash only, so after I made my way to one of the two ATMs, I ordered what I wanted at the register. They didn’t have the Mexican Flan in a pre-roll, only in an eighth ($70), so I just got the 2090 Sh*t pre-roll ($22), the Wana gummies ($32), and a blue Cookies branded T-shirt ($40). I paid $98.50 for $164 worth of products.
Along with a variety of cannabis products, Cookies carries branded accessories like designer ashtrays, rolling trays, glassware storage bags and clothing.
Cookies is known for top-quality flower, which is usually more expensive, but I found their prices to generally be only a little high. At $22 per gram, that’s higher than legacy market prices for sure. No loyalty program was mentioned, nor did I see signs for one.
They apparently had a special called “Berner buys you an 1/8″ that also gave me 3.5 grams of the 2090 Sh*t flower, but I found this out by checking my receipt. Had my budtender explained to me that this special was included automatically, I would have requested the Mexican Flan. A slight, but disappointing oversight; it was very hectic in the store that day.
I am curious to see what the ambiance and service is like at this shop when the chaos of an event is not present. As someone who doesn’t drive and enjoys restaurants and specialty shops, I enjoyed the central location of this weed store right across from the train station.
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.