Canna Blooms marijuana dispensary, Long Island's 12th, opens at Farmingville site of former adult store

It was a dream of Monica Oberoi's since she got married 18 years ago to someday open a store with her husband, Gaurav.

But they could not have imagined in 2007 that the store would be a cannabis dispensary: Recreational marijuana wasn't legal in New York until 2021.

That's why the Farmingdale couple beamed like newlyweds this week as about a dozen customers perused display cases filled with gummies and CBD products at Canna Blooms, the shop they opened last month at 2400 N. Ocean Ave. in Farmingville.

Canna Blooms took the space previously occupied by the Xpressions adult store, which closed earlier this year.

Following a remodeling by Toronto-based Charcoal Construction, the new store features a digital screen that stretches the length of the sales counter. On Monday, the screen featured a Christmas scene along a lagoon.

"We're excited," Monica Oberoi, 43, the store's owner, said Monday in an interview at the store. "It's been a fun ride."

Canna Blooms became Brookhaven Town's third cannabis dispensary — and the 12th on Long Island — when it launched last week with a "soft" opening, meaning there was little advance publicity before it opened its doors.

The store is planning a grand opening this weekend with music, ice cream and special discounts.

Long Island's cannabis industry has been slow to develop since recreational pot became legal in New York. Some store owners cite the slow state approval process and zoning restrictions in the four towns where pot is legal: Brookhaven, Babylon, Riverhead and Southampton.

Brookhaven has said a store in Coram that opened last month should not have received a state license because it doesn't conform with town zoning for the property. A Medford shop that received state approval more than a year ago still has not opened while it seeks town permits.

The Oberois said it took them two years to receive a state license. But they faced a relatively easy path to obtaining town approvals because their property is zoned for industrial uses, which permit cannabis shops.

The store's parent company, Small Leaf 79, received a special permit in June to open a pot shop from the town Board of Zoning Appeals, town officials previously said. It also received planning board approval for a change of use and new signs, they said.

"You have to go through a lot of special permits, so it took time," said Gaurav Oberoi, 44, who works for the store in an unofficial capacity. "We are glad we made it through."

Brookhaven Councilman Michael A. Loguercio Jr., who represents Farmingville, said he had received no complaints about the dispensary.

“The store is operating legally in a properly zoned area and they’re doing everything right," he said Thursday in a phone interview.