DEPEW, N.Y. — Depew has officially become home to the first licensed weed dispensary in the Western New York suburbs, with the grand opening of Herbal IQ on 6061 Transit Road.
The site was issued its conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) license back in May, two years after recreational marijuana's legalization in New York State. This makes it the second state-licensed dispensary to exist in the Western New York area, with the first opened on Main Street earlier this week.
The store is led by Bradley Kyler and Mike Ortiz. On their first day open for business they received a sizeable turnout, with the parking lot filling with customers hours prior to its 11 a.m. opening.
"When we got here at 7 a.m., there were already people waiting in cars, lines are forming, even other business owners in the plaza are impressed." said Ortiz, who serves as chief operating officer.
Kyler and Ortiz wasted no time getting their dispensary off the ground. Though it was not until May that they received their retail licenses, the official startup process began last August. Working with the Depew Town Board, they were able to obtain a former Depew pool services shop in June and open the dispensary to the public only three weeks after.
"We were in the second batch of licenses to be granted I believe mid-May. So once Brad got the license, it went to finding a location," Ortiz said.
Their store, Herbal IQ, features a range of different products. In addition to marijuana alone, they also feature several cannabis-infused items such as sparking water, body balms, gummy candies, and more. Most of these products come from growers in the Finger Lakes, Rochester, and Batavia. The site has already brought more customers to a shopping square that has seen decline in recent years.
"We're just trying to grow this whole plaza. It got a little bad a couple years ago but now it's picking up. All this new business came in." said Jeff Mueller, owner of the store next door to Herbal IQ.
With Herbal I-Q expected to be one of many Western new York dispensaries opening in coming months, products like these could receive heightened exposure.
"It could be a game changer for everyone. So many people checking this out. It could do a lot for Depew and the surrounding areas." Mueller added.
With the site's opening to the public, Ortiz believes life will become much easier for those who have had to take alternative routes to obtain marijuana. Though he knows it will not be an overnight process, he envisions an informed community where recreational use of the product becomes more normalized.
"It's no different than if you like to have an alcoholic beverage at night. We're glad that stigmatizing will now go away, it's going to take a little time but that's why we're here. We want to educate the community, our Village of Depew loves us being here. They're super excited," Ortiz said.
Herbal IQ will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight through Sunday for its grand opening before shifting its hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ID check will be required before all purchases.