A New York City-based lifestyle brand is bringing seamlessly blending art, apparel and cannabis into a concept store on the Lower East Side.
MOZ opened for business over the summer with the goal of redefining the retail experience for those interested in exploring cannabis culture and lifestyle. In addition to selling various cannabis products onsite, MOZ sells its own apparel line and serves as an art gallery.
“Originally we wanted to open up a dispensary, my partner qualified for [New York’s] social equity program to get the license. But we didn’t just want to do cannabis, we wanted to also focus on other lines of business like fashion because we have other partners as well,” said co-owner Jonathan Yu. “We just wanted to incorporate everything together and make it into a lifestyle brand.”
For Yu and his business partners, eliminating the stigma that still exists around cannabis as a whole, so moving forward as a lifestyle store rather than purely just a cannabis vendor was the move for them.
“Although cannabis is legalized now recreationally in New York, there’s still kind of that taboo, it’s kind of still frowned upon. We wanted to normalize it, so instead of just going cannabis, we want to also focus on the educational side of it. We’re trying to have people come in and do sessions events where we could teach people how to grow marijuana legally and how to do it safely,” said Yu. “A lot of these smoke shops are not regulated, these guys just come in and capitalize on the recreational legal side of cannabis.”
Those who come by the shop can expect a very welcoming experience, regardless of it you purchase anything when you visit. Customers can go to a designated area to purchase cannabis products, with knowledgeable staff that can help them find the right fit for MOZ’s cannabis club members.
“We have about 20-something different types of weed over there, and I could literally give you the address of everywhere where they came from,” said Yu. “We are very knowledgeable about the plant, and the way I curate all the cannabis that we have in the store, it’s very meticulous, I have tested everything. I bring it to a lab, and if I don’t, I ask for lab reports.”
Guests who aren’t members of the cannabis club are also welcome to shop through the apparel section or check out the art gallery, which highlights extraordinary works by talented New York artists. That said, even if you just want to check out the store without buying anything, no one will try to make you feel bad about that.
“A lot of dispensaries and cannabis membership clubs that they have in the city, they kind of breathe down your neck a lot. You go in and it’s like, come in, buy, then leave, and if you’re not buying anything, please leave,” said Yu. ” We want to be a more comfortable and safe space for people, and I welcome people in that don’t even smoke weed. Feel free to walk around, and if you have any questions, let us know. I’m never gonna like breathe down their necks to go buy something.”
MOZ held its official grand opening of its new Lower East Side storefront this past August. Yu says the opening went off without a hitch, with customers abound checking out their many offerings on both the clothing and cannabis sides of the business, selling out of many items that day.
“The grand opening was great. We had a lot of people just come in, like local people from the Lower East Side,” said Yu. “It was a great event, people just getting together to celebrate. We had a live DJ, we had an open bar in the back and just a lot of friends and family coming by and just people from the neighborhood.”
Yu says that since the opening, MOZ’s apparel line has been super popular amongst customers, as has the cannabis offerings within the store.
“When people say merch, I always correct them because sometimes when you say merch, it’s kind of like we have a t-shirt with a logo on it or something. That’s something we’re trying to sway away from, but the t-shirts have been doing very well,” said Yu. “We have a t-shirt that says ‘Lower East Side’ across and that one has just been getting a lot of local neighborhood attention.”
Beyond their t-shirt line, Yu says the team is trying to work with designers to help design items like shorts, joggers, sweaters, and hoodies for a fall/winter apparel line.
As for the future of the shop, Yu and the team are working to make sure that MOZ becomes more than just a local spot, though they always plan to remain a staple in the Lower East Side community.
“We want to become not just a local neighborhood thing. I want it to be a spot where people come down to the Lower East Side for. [Customers are] so surprised that the space looks so unique for a clothing store and looks really like cool for like a cannabis club and art gallery, so a lot of people just say, ‘Are you guys gonna expand it all because I feel like you guys have something good going right here,'” said Yu. “We want to become a neighborhood staple, a safe community space where people can come and share knowledge and work together.”
MOZ is located at 122 Orchard St. and is open from 12—9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 12—10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. For more information, visit moznewyork.com.
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