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The Plant officially opened its doors on May 9, becoming the first legal adult-use dispensary in Yonkers – New York State’s third-largest city.
In its first month of business, the store has seen about 100 customers per day, and CEO Anthony Bannister thinks that number will rise over time. The shop has a diverse customer base, Bannister said, but some of their most loyal customers so far have been middle-age people of all races.
In a Q&A with NY Cannabis Insider, Bannister answered questions about what customers are buying, what it’s like to operate in Yonkers and challenges in New York’s legal weed industry.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
About how many customers are you seeing per day?
We’re definitely doing over 100 transactions a day – of course, we want to increase that. We’ve only been open for about a month, and we’re trying to cause a little bit more brand awareness to get people knowing that we’re here. I think that number will increase significantly once we get all our marketing materials and things pushed out the right way.
How many workers do you employ?
We have about 15 total.
What kinds of products are selling the most?
We are doing very well with edibles – I think that’s because of our market. I think flower will come in second, and vapes in third.
What brands are selling the most?
I would say Cake, Dank, Hepworth and FlowerHouse.
Which demographics do you see as your target market?
We definitely have a young professional market, but I think that we are seeing significant customer retention with middle-aged men and women of all colors and races and shapes and sizes.
Can you describe your business experience outside of cannabis?
I’ve been in franchising and retail for a very long time. I got introduced to the cannabis space in 2021. The reason why I got into the cannabis space is because I’m a fan of the plant, and I love the herb, I love what it does and I love how it changes moods. I’m here to shave the stigma of it having any negative kind of tone. And I just pursued it and went forward to try to make other people fans of the plant.
How does that experience translate to running a cannabis dispensary?
In franchising, you’re selling the product. This one – cannabis – is more desirable, more known – but also more regulated. In the cannabis industry it’s important to be always making sure you’re on top of the regulations, making sure you stay compliant. That’s the main difference.
Can you tell us about how operating in Yonkers is different (or similar) to other NY cities/regions?
Yonkers is the third-largest city in New York State, so that right there gives us a little bit of a degree of separation. To the north of us, we have towns that opted out, and to the south of us, we have maybe one dispensary there. I think we’re in a pretty good position to do business.
How much of a problem do illicit cannabis shops present to your business?
I don’t think they’re causing a significant issue for us, but we do have a couple of things on our side. Like, our mayor is very supportive, and put up a memorandum that kind of shuts down anybody who wants to open a new smoke shop. And with the governor enforcing laws and rules in place to shut down some of these illegal shops, it could give us legal shops an actual chance to flourish.
So they’re around, but we don’t feel that they’re of significant threat.
What state cannabis policies/regulations do you think are the most challenging to your business?
The most challenging have been the advertising regulations. That’s a little bit of a challenge because we’re a retail business that’s selling cannabis, so we want to be able to get the word out there – in more ways than we’re allowed to do at the moment.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs planning on opening dispensaries?
Persistence, persistence, persistence – and patience. You have to be persistent and have patience. So many things are going to be thrown your way, you have to put your blinders on and stay focused, because it is a little rough. But, you know what they say, “There’s no tough times, only tough people.”