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It’s a big day for the cannabis industry in NYC: Bliss+Lex, Manhattan’s first Black-woman owned dispensary, opened its brick-and-mortar store today on 86th Street in the Upper East Side.
The 2,603 square-foot space plans to focus on individualized customer experiences that will meet customers where they are in their journey, whether that means delving deep into the nuances of different strains or just handing off a quick pickup order for those who already know exactly what they want.
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Bliss+Lex opened in collaboration with the Housing Works CAURD Community Initiative, an incubator that offers resources and support for New York-based cannabis entrepreneurs. The incubator hopes to provide a social equity model for cannabis businesses by focusing on people who don’t have access to startup capital to open a dispensary or who have had cannabis convictions in the past. This will be the 15th dispensary to open in Manhattan, and the second to open under the Housing Works initiative.
Bliss+Lex is owned by native New York couple Nicole and Christopher Lucien, who for years battled the stigma that Christopher faced as a result of a weed conviction.“As a former New York City public school educator, my life has been dedicated to family and community, our careers in service, and now we are proud to share our passion for the plant,” Nicole Lucien said in a statement.
Their new store will include plenty of preroll options, extracts, vapes, edibles and more. It will be open from 11am-9pm on Mondays-Thursdays; 11am-10pm on Fridays and Saturdays; and 11am-8pm on Sundays.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think a cannabis conviction, that until now has created a barrier to jobs, housing, and acceptance, would be the key to this door of opportunity for myself and my family,” Christopher Lucien said in a press release. “I’ve always been driven to support the underdog in my work in nonprofits serving the homeless, and becoming a business owner is an invigorating way to help my community.”
Visit them at 128 East 86th St. in Manhattan or visit their website here.