Skimming the Surface
Reef Cannabis Company opens as Greenfield Center’s first and only locally-owned and operated cannabis retailer.
In September, after a process that took more than two years, Reef Cannabis Company opened their doors to sell topicals, edibles, drinks, and flower, as well as hemp products and crafts by local artisans.
Conveniently located in the Stewart’s Shops Plaza, the Reef Cannabis Company, 2532 Route 9N, is focused on educating customers, keeping them happy, and ensuring they leave with a smile, said co-founder Mason Mello.
“It’s fun for me, like selling specialty grocery products,” he said.
The Reef Cannabis Company is also creating a new community around cannabis where one never existed before.
Growing the Green
“There’s a science behind cannabis besides just getting high,” said Mason Mello. His passion for the product (commonly known as marijuana, weed, pot, and more than a thousand other names) inspired him to become an educator, ambassador, and aficionado operating an apothecary-type business that can have a positive effect on the health of the community.
Although the NY Office of Cannabis Management rules restrict cannabis branding, colors, font designs, and require dispensaries to cover their windows to protect children, the atmosphere at Reef Cannabis Company is welcoming. At a time when other dispensaries in the state, hidden behind locked doors, have made customers feel like they are doing something illicit, the comfortable environment at Reef Cannabis Company puts them at ease.
“A lot of people come in misinformed,” said Mello. “Cannabis is not a cure-all. Much of the revenue goes back into the business. The taxes are crazy and there are all the processes that we must go through to stay compliant. I just want to pay my bills, pay my people, and grow slowly.”
An Artful Joint
Raised in Saratoga, Mello once lived on Route 9N and is very familiar with the area, which is off the beaten path but on a main thoroughfare. After studying photography at SUNY Albany, Mello began in the service and retail industries; waiting tables, bartending, helping to open two area restaurants, and working for 11 years at Hannaford Supermarket. Rather than securing loans to open the Reef Cannabis Company, Mello used his retirement savings, and teamed up with co-founder Joe Moen, a local attorney with more than a decade of experience in the cannabis business representing state licensed dispensaries, processors, and cultivators.
“We asked permission before (rather than forgiveness after) and the Town of Greenfield has been wonderful to us,” said Mello.
Although the storefront had been vacant before they moved in, few renovations were required, the majority of which Mello did himself. The u-shaped bud bar in the center of the space holds three tablets to browse the menu and magnified flower canisters that allow you to smell the product. The bar itself is constructed from reclaimed wood sourced from local sawmills including Pettey’s Lumber in Gansevoort and Drumm’s Sawmill in Schuylerville.
A soothing water fountain trickles gently behind a coffee table strewn with a generous assortment of books and flanked by a couple of cozy chairs. On the walls, Mello’s artwork is hung along with pieces by other local artists, and on the shelves, in addition to displaying a plentiful variety of sample inventory, is Mello’s interesting collection of antique scales.
The cannabis business is a very tight system of checks and balances, he said and surprise inspections can happen at any time. Product arrives prepackaged and is inventoried. Point-of-sale systems are used to monitor and record details of every transaction. Dispensaries can’t accept credit cards (because cannabis is still illegal at the federal level) but accept certain types of debit card transactions and have an ATM machine on-site
“We are very transparent. Every square inch of the store is seen by the cameras. New York sets a very high standard and we don’t want to fall short,” said Mello.
A Blunt Business
After being prohibited during the beginning of the 20th century, by 1973 Oregon became the first state to decriminalize cannabis. Twenty years later, medical cannabis was approved, and in recent decades, cannabis products for recreational use have followed suit. Today, cannabis is legal in 38 of the 50 states for medical use and in 24 states for recreational use.
Since 2021, when New York State legalized adult-use cannabis, the rollout of dispensaries has been gaining momentum. The state’s fashionably late arrival to the party has proved fortuitous for Mello, he said, because of the opportunity it has provided to learn what works and what doesn’t from those who came before him, so there’s been no need to reinvent the wheel.
Reef Cannabis Company is not currently offering delivery, and by law, shipping is not allowed, but customers can order online for pick-up.
Cultivating the Market
Educating consumers on the process “from seed to sale” in the store will someday include a small garden bed growing a hemp plant in living soil, said Mello, and a larger selection of health and beauty items. By sourcing a curated collection of clean, high-quality products from New York farmers, including Goldfinch Farms, Canna Cure, Slack Hollow Organics, Token Heights Cannabis Farm, Altua, and others, Reef is supporting the local circular economy. Cannabis consumers needing specific medical advice for health conditions should consult a medical professional
“These products are made with different cannabinoids that have different effects, some give you energy, help you sleep, or maintain focus, instead of just getting you high. Getting stoned had a stigma 20 years ago, but my clients want to switch from the heavy medications they’re taking to something without the harmful side effects and we want to give them what they want.”
In addition to inviting brand ambassadors and farmers to educate consumers, Reef Cannabis Company is becoming a gathering place for those in the industry to share knowledge and resources.
“The more we share with each other, the more we can grow,” said Mello.
For more information, follow Reef Cannabis Company on Instagram @reefcannaco and at https://reef-dispensary.com
