It’s not a stretch to say that cannabis has changed Rob Puleo’s life. A couple years ago, Puleo, co-owner of HZY Goods, developed chronic back pain, but he feared becoming reliant on pain killers. In cannabis products, he found an antidote to his discomfort as well as a remedy for depression.
When Puleo opens his doors today and becomes East Orange’s first up-and-running dispensary, customers will see that he’s both a businessman and a card-carrying advocate.
The shelves at 19 Prospect Street will not only stock premium strains of recreational cannabis and edibles, but also topical creams. His experience with the pain-relieving effects of cannabis even inspired his wife, co-owner Staci Puleo, to enter the industry, working at Montclair’s Ascend dispensary and her father’s former pediatrics practice, introducing cannabis remedies to patients there.
“We’ve had patients call and say, we’ve been on prescription medication for years and nothing worked until we tried cannabis,” she said. “Now, they can stop taking their medicines completely.”
What makes the Puleos’ story fascinating is that they weren’t even among the first applicants chosen in the first round when the city selected candidates for licenses. Only when one of the applicants dropped out did the city consider HZY Goods. Now, they are the first of five approvals to get past the finish line.
Our publication has been following the cannabis industry since 2023, when Flower Garden became the first dispensary to get approvals. In order to be considered for a retail license, an applicant has to provide the city with an up-to-date lease. That means the Puleos had to rent out their location at 19 Prospect Street without knowing for sure if the city would even choose them.
In the case of another applicant, Black-owned dispensary Baked Goodz — which will be opening soon at 484 Main Street — the owners even renovated a commercial space before finding out that they would have to move to a different location in order to get Planning Board approval.
These types of curve balls have led to the demise of many well-meaning candidates throughout the state who simply lack the coffers to get a foot in this upstart industry. These problems aren’t unique to East Orange but it does point to needed reforms statewide to avoid businesses having to rent out a store without knowing whether they can operate a business there.
“It was a little stressful, but we got through it,” said Staci Puleo.
There certainly will be an advantage to being the first dispensary to open. It’s an opportunity to win over local customers who have been traveling to neighboring towns for their products or perhaps remain loyal to longtime dealers. Cannabis experts have also told our publication dispensaries still have to compete with the street market, which can sometimes offer cheaper products. But customer service can win over lifelong patrons.
“People want to feel connected — they want to feel like they’re not just a number,” Rob Puleo said. “Educating customers is also important because there are a lot of people who don’t know anything about cannabis — people are going to ask things like ‘I can’t sleep at night, what do you recommend and why?’”
Rob Puleo also believes that the legal market offers a safer product to smokers — as studies have shown that black-market weed can have contaminants like heavy metals or even mold.
The store’s opening is timely — located a block away from the Crossings at Brick Church Station development, an ambitious 820-unit development that just won a $300 million state tax credit to bring the project across the finish line. The Puleos feel their part of something much larger — the renaissance of downtown.
“Our location is a prime part of the rebuilt area of East Orange,” Puleo said.
Stories about cannabis in East Orange
