Farmingdale cannabis shop among highest-performing in New York State

Long Island's only recreational pot shop is doing up to $1.5 million in weekly sales, hitting numbers of note nationally, the state said.

Strain Stars, a dispensary in Farmingdale, sold about $13.3 million worth of cannabis in its first three months, according to CEO Yuvraj Singh. Since opening on July 8, Strain Stars has been the lone licensed brick-and-mortar shop in the region — although at least two delivery services also operate on the Island. 

Strain Stars does an average of $1.25 million in sales each week, with its best week being $1.5 million, Singh said. About 1,400 people a day visit the dispensary earlier in the week, which grows to about 1,700 as the weekend approaches, he noted. 

By comparison, the first recreational dispensary to open in the state, Housing Works Cannabis Co in Manhattan, conducted about $12 million worth of sales in its first six months, the group said. The shop sees "as many as 1,000 unique visitors on busy days," according to an announcement from Housing Works, a nonprofit that runs the shop and puts the proceeds toward services and advocacy aimed at ending social injustices. 

Last month, recreational pot shops across the state had median weekly sales of $111,679, according to Mitchell Laferla, an analyst at Headset, a cannabis market data and analysis company.

"Strain Stars in Farmingdale routinely has some of the highest weekly revenues of any licensed dispensary in New York State, posting revenues that make them a top performer in the national market," said Jason Salmon, director of external affairs for the state Office of Cannabis Management, which regulates the industry. "This speaks to the high demand and desire for legal, regulated cannabis on Long Island, and we are excited to see more municipalities and communities across Nassau and Suffolk counties embrace New York’s opportunity-rich regulated cannabis market.”

So far, four towns on Long Island have chosen to allow recreational dispensaries: Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton. Zoning rules in these towns, however, have made finding viable storefronts a challenge.

Other towns on Long Island have the option to reverse course and allow pot shops, a move cannabis entrepreneurs and state regulators have been pushing for. 

The Town of Babylon expects to receive about $300,000 or 3% of the $10 million in sales Strain Stars conducted during the third quarter of 2023, according to spokesman Patrick Maslinski. Besides Strain Stars, another five cannabis businesses are in the town's pipeline to open, Newsday previously reported.

Singh said that Strain Stars' performance has shown him "how many people actually use cannabis," despite stigmas about the substance.

"With a combined 30-plus years in retail, we're pretty well-versed in providing a very fast experience for our customer," said Singh, whose business partners and relatives operate a number of gas stations. "That plays a very big part in [the success], as well as that our location is pretty prime."

By Sarina Trangle

sarina.trangle@newsday.comSarinaTrangle

Sarina Trangle covers affordability and cost of living issues and other business topics. She previously worked as an editor and reporter at amNewYork.