Weed Dispensary Awarded License For Recreational Sale In Morristown

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The Morristown council approved a resolution allowing a vendor from Massachusetts to open Morristown's first cannabis dispensary, which will be located at 102 Ridgedale Ave.

Uma Flowers, a dispensary in Pepperell, Massachusetts, was founded in December by sisters-in-law Priyanka and Tejal Patel. Before opening their own recreational cannabis shop, both sisters worked in the health sector for five years.

Following the approval of a zoning ordinance that allowed up to two dispensaries to open in Morristown, town officials received six retail cannabis establishment applications.

Read more: Weed Dispensary Zoning Gets Morristown Council's OK

The five other applications for retail weed establishments were:

• Tangerine Tree Dispensary LLC: 158 Morris St.
• Atta AMFI: 77-79 Market St.
• The Summit: 65-66 Market St.
• Sweetspot: 64-66 Ridgedale Ave.
• The Banc Street Collective: 51 Bank St.

According to Iannaccone, Uma Flowers narrowly defeated The Summit, a Bridgewater applicant who pitched a dispensary at 65-66 Market St. in Morristown.

"We ended up having a tie between Uma Flowers and The Summit, at the time of the meeting the committee decided to break the tie using location and Uma Flowers was chosen as the primary location," Barrick said.

The proposed location is on a busy stretch of Ridgedale Avenue near the Morris Township border, across from a former state motor vehicle inspection station, a bank and a lumberyard.

“I think Uma, it was very, very clear that their experience, not just in the industry, but also their professional backgrounds, and also their experience with operating stores, was a good solid recommendation,” Iannaccone said.

When the council passed an ordinance last Dec. specifying where dispensaries could be located and under what conditions, a maximum of two cannabis licenses were authorized.

Read more: 6 Businesses Apply To Open Weed Dispensaries In Morristown

Barrick informed the council that all six applicants were recreational marijuana businesses, which is why they only recommended one, rather than the two initially approved by the zoning ordinance.

If the council wants a second retail cannabis vendor, the ordinance will most likely need to be amended, according to Barrick. In either case, a new round of applications would be necessary.

"Based on the ordinance and my understanding of the intent of the governing body with regard to cannabis licenses, once you issue a retail license, then the remaining license would be for medical at this point unless you choose to go a different direction," Barrick said.

The venture is still awaiting state approval, so there is no set opening date for the new business, according to the council.

“We’ll learn a lot of lessons for the next store we do, and I think pacing ourselves is probably some good advice," Iannaccone said.