For these new licensees, pot is an all-in-the-family business

From brothers longing to work together to siblings starting their third joint venture, Long Islanders are using retail cannabis licenses to launch a new generation of family businesses. 

Two pairs of brothers from Suffolk County and a husband and wife from Bay Shore were among 24 businesses awarded “conditional” dispensary licenses from the state this week. The temporary licenses are designed to help people impacted by the old marijuana laws get established before other recreational pot retailers. To qualify, New Yorkers must have — or be related to someone who has — a marijuana-related conviction and have owned a business that turned a profit for at least two years.

Stanley Isaac, 45, said he and his wife have been mulling what to name their dispensary after winning a license. The Bay Shore couple is interested in opening a shop in the Babylon area and making its products accessible to seniors and people with limited mobility.

“We’re going to try to do deliveries,” said Isaac, who owns a jewelry store. “Depending on the location we find, we may do a drive-thru.”

The state licenses will let firms open in areas that have chosen to allow dispensaries — including the Towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton — but they are not tied to specific locations. Regulators must sign off on the storefronts, which will need to be a certain distance from schools, houses of worship and other sensitive locations — and abide by local zoning rules. State regulations permit drive-thrus, but local governments may not.

Gahrey Ovalle, 46, of Central Islip, said securing the license with his brother, Warren Ovalle, 45, will allow them to start a “family-oriented business.”

“We’re very much excited to work together, finally, in a professional sense,” said Gahrey Ovalle, a business coach. “This is just the first time that our schedules have met [up].”

Some local cannabis entrepreneurs have set their sights beyond the Island because most of its towns have chosen not to allow dispensaries. But the Ovalles want to create a retail and gathering space in their community, Gahrey Ovalle said. 

“We know that going to Queens and Brooklyn and Manhattan might have been easier,” he said. “But building a business right here, at home — that’s what feels the best.”

By contrast, Long Island's hesitant approach to cannabis has one licensee, Sean Lustberg, 39, of Manhattan, considering trying to transfer his credential to another area.

Lustberg envisions his dispensary, Mottz Only, having an “old school” New York aesthetic. The word mottz is slang for marijuana as well as "fire" when used as praise, said Lustberg, who grew up in the Five Towns area.

“We’re looking to build a world-class dispensary here in New York,” said Lustberg, who owns a digital platform, Uprise Capital, that connects cannabis companies and other businesses with lenders.

Operating a dispensary together won’t be totally new territory for Jonathan Gibbs, 38, and Paul Gibbs Jr., 42. The brothers, who live in Suffolk County, started a streetwear line called Wolf Breed Clothing and are also collaborating on a record label, Jonathan Gibbs said.

The Gibbses named their business Zooties, a term for joints that was popular decades ago, they said. 

“Zooties brings everybody together. You smoke a joint; everybody has a good time,” Jonathan Gibbs said.

That’s an attitude shared by George Moss, 63, of Smithtown, who was granted a license to sell cannabis decades after he described being profiled by law enforcement for his hippie-like appearance. Moss said he pulled over to inspect his tire in 1991, and a state trooper stopped because — Moss believes — the officer assumed Moss had marijuana. Moss was arrested for possessing a substance that, he said, was for his asthma.

Moss owns East Coast Psychedelics Inc., a Mount Sinai store with smoke accessories, incense, colorful clothing and Grateful Dead merchandise. He's licensed to sell cannabidiol (CBD) products, which are derived from the same plant as marijuana, but contain low amounts of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) compound that produces a high. Proponents say CBD can promote sleep, relaxation, ease joint pain and provide other wellness benefits.

“People can get high,” Moss said of products combining more THC with CBD. “It’s a win-win situation because God  also made it fun.”

By Sarina Trangle

sarina.trangle@newsday.com@SarinaTrangle

Sarina Trangle covers affordability and cost of living issues and other business topics. She previously worked as an editor and reporter at amNewYork.