The Artist Tree chain to start new cannabis dispensary in Farmingdale as industry competition grows

A new dispensary will open in Farmingdale this fall as competition among Long Island’s burgeoning cannabis industry heats up.

Los Angeles-based chain The Artist Tree plans to open its new store at 900 Broadhollow Rd. in October, said Lauren Fontein, the chain’s co-founder and chief compliance officer.

The new dispensary — the chain’s first outside California — will feature cannabis products and exhibit local art from Long Island artists, Fontein said. She said she decided to open in Farmingdale because it's an artistic neighborhood, and because the New York market still has room for more retailers.

“We were really interested in getting into the New York market because New York is still developing," Fontein said. “In Farmingdale specifically, it is a very artistic community and we feel like our concept will resonate really well with people living there."

She said she expects to hire around 25 mostly part-time workers to staff the store, and hopes to grow to 35 employees by the end of the year.

The new store comes as the number of cannabis stores on Long Island has steadily expanded, and as retailers on the Island pull in millions in revenue.

Hugo Rivas, the vice president of the business group the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, said other dispensaries have been adopting their own unique flair to draw customers, and he expects the trend to grow as competition increases.

For example, the Bellport dispensary Top Grass, which opened earlier this summer, features a model train that ferries samples of marijuana under a microscope so customers can examine it, Newsday reported.

“You have to be different because there’s going to be so much competition around," Rivas said.

Fontein said the chain decided to open on Long Island, as opposed to New York City, because the Long Island market has fewer existing stores and more affordable rents.

The Artist Tree leased the building, a former Thomasville Home Furnishings store, in March last year as they waited for approvals from the Town of Babylon.

The store is still under construction, Fontein said, and she estimated that her company had spent more than $1 million on renovations. The building is roughly 30,000 square feet, according to real estate platform LoopNet.

Fontein said she hopes to secure a certificate of occupancy from the town and final approval from the state Office of Cannabis Management to open in October. A spokesperson for the Town of Babylon told Newsday that the retailer is going through the inspection process to secure the certificate.

The Artist Tree will join around 20 retail and medical dispensaries open on Long Island, as cannabis stores — and revenues — grow.

New York City retailers have pulled in the most revenue from cannabis sales, at more than $1 billion since the first legal seller opened its doors in 2022, but Long Island has also seen high sales, according to a report from the Office of Cannabis Management. Long Island dispensaries pulled in $279.5 million from 2022 to November of last year.

Fontein said she knows she’ll face some competition; there are four cannabis dispensaries open in and around Farmingdale and more have been licensed, according to the Office of Cannabis Management.

But she said her store’s unique concept — doubling as an art gallery — will help draw customers.

“We’re definitely thinking about the competition," Fontein said. “Our big distinction is we really put a lot of thought and effort in highlighting the art, helping to sell the art, switching it out every few months and getting more immersed in other outside events in the local community."