Reefer in Rockaway: Morris County's first legal weed shop now open on Route 46
ROCKAWAY — Nearly three years after New Jersey residents overwhelmingly voted to legalize marijuana sales for recreational use, Morris County's first retail cannabis dispensary is open for business.
Following a soft launch in late July, Kind Kush held a grand opening on Aug. 19 in the Rockaway Borough shopping center along Route 46 anchored by Tractor Supply Co.
"The mayor was kind enough to come out and cut the ribbon, which was very exciting," owner-operator Jimmy Rogovich said in an interview Tuesday. A resident of Cresskill in Bergen County, he formerly owned Rogo's sports bar in Hoboken with his brothers.
Kind Kush fills only a small sliver of the 40,000-square-foot building, which was formerly occupied by World Gym and, before that, a Shop-Rite. Customers visiting the dispensary must present identification to advance from a small lobby into the retail shop, where large-screen TVs display product availability and price.
What's on sale at Kind Kush
Packaged goods include cannabis sold in natural flower-bud form, in 3.5 or 7-gram bags, pre-rolled joints, edibles, vape cartridges, concentrates and other varieties, along with accessories. Prices range from about $15 for a pre-rolled 1-gram joint to more than $100 for a 7-gram pack of buds.
The product itself is not visible in the shopping area, but packaging labels list essential consumer information such as the strain of cannabis and detailed data on its potency.
Customers must be 21 or older and may not purchase more than one ounce at a time. Payment can be made by debit card or in cash. Credit cards are not accepted.
'Bud-tender' Debbie gets to work
Rogovich opened with about 20 employees, including longtime Rockaway resident Debbie Mereau as his first hire.
"I'm technically the first female bud-tender in Morris County," said Mereau, who was behind the counter tending to customers on Tuesday. She previously worked as a customer service representative for a payroll company.
"This is the best job I've ever had," she said. "I can't believe I had to wait this long to be this happy somewhere."
State regulators approved Rogovich's application for a conditional license for recreational and medical use in May 2022, then approved his annual license in October.
Shopping around for locations, he found willing supporters in Rockaway town hall and a landlord who gave him a fair deal, he said.
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Seven Morris towns OK weed sales
Seven towns in Morris County - Boonton, Butler, Dover, Morristown, Rockaway, Rockaway Township and Victory Gardens - have approved retail cannabis sales since voters approved an amendment to the state constitution by a 67% majority in 2020, legalizing cannabis use on Jan. 1, 2021. Legislative and other legal hurdles delayed actual retail sales around the state until April of 2022.
"A lot of municipalities didn't opt in [to allowing retail cannabis sales] but Rockaway has been super," Rogovich said. "And I'm really happy we'll be making a real contricbution with the 2 percent [local sales tax surcharge] we give to the borough."
Kind Kush is now the 40th location approved to sell to recreational and medical users in New Jersey. Customers with prescriptions can shop in an additional six dispensaries restricted to medical pot sales.
Morristown, Victory Gardens applications
Other retail cannabis applications in Morris County towns, including in Madison and Victory Gardens, have been stalled by bureaucratic opposition. Victory Gardens, already in discussion with two potential operators, voted last week to require applicants to file more information.
In February, the Morristown Planning Board gave unanimous approval for Massachusetts-based Uma Flowers to open a cannabis dispensary on Ridgedale Avenue, but no opening date was announced. The owners of Uma Flowers were unavailable Tuesday to update their status.
Rogovich said marijuana businesses have also had to contend with "a ton of price-gouging" by landlords. "We call it the green tax. Once they find out it's cannabis-related, sometimes they double the rent."
That was apparently the case in Boonton, where a retail cannabis licensee sought zoning relief after learning the few available spaces approved for sales in a designated industrial zone were overpriced. The Boonton council, however, voted against the retailer's proposal to operate in an existing space outside the industrial zone.
Unlike many of New Jersey's new dispensaries, which are owned by large multistate operators such as Ascend and the Apothecarium, Rogovich says he is the sole owner and proprietor of Kind Kush.
"We are a true 'mom and pop" business and I am spending about 100 hours a week here," he said. "So far, business has gotten better every week."
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Rockaway NJ legal marijuana dispensary Morris County's first
