Across its four New York locations — Bowery, Chelsea, Williamsburg and Hudson — Gotham’s dispensaries have been working to reimagine Cannabis retail to be more of a cultural experience.
Scene and Setting
Their shops often feel like you’re walking into a concept art space rather than your standard, run-of-the-mill, Apple-store-clean storefront. Gotham accomplishes this by pairing premium Cannabis product offerings with design-forward interiors, rotating artists, installations and local programming. This September through October, Gotham Chelsea adds another layer to its culture push with “Selling My Life” by Mark Ghuneim, a month-long immersive installation that turns the in-house gallery into a “memory marketplace” of New York’s underground past, underscoring Gotham’s role as a major bridge between Cannabis and culture.
Product Selection
You might be able to call Gotham’s menu a work of art too, as it’s thoughtfully curated with a mix of premium flower, prerolls, concentrates and edibles alongside a rotating mix of design objects, apparel and accessories from emerging and legacy brands. This cross-pollination of Cannabis and lifestyle goods helps make Gotham a one-stop shop for both heady smokers and curious newcomers who might have been exposed to them via their art projects. For example, at this month’s “Selling My Life” art exhibit, select pieces from Ghuneim’s cultural archive will be available for purchase, shining a light on how Gotham’s retail model blurs the line between retail and art experience.
Vibe and Staff
Gotham’s brand is female-founded and mission-driven. Their stores are staffed by a diverse team of plant aficionados who seem a bit more tapped into what is going on in the scene and culture than your traditional budtenders. Employees are trained on product knowledge and compliance, but also on hospitality and event production, ensuring their dispensaries can create the vibe of an art opening, a neighborhood hangout and a boutique shopping experience all in one. The vibe here is heady, artsy and part of the culture, and while each location has its own local energy, the vibe is consistently inclusive, creative and distinctly New York.
Experience
Aiming to develop their spaces into more than your standard dispensary, it’s clear that Gotham is working hard to tap into the real local culture and help elevate a platform for one of New York’s deepest-rooted pastimes: the arts. From fashion to immersive in-store pop-ups and everything in between, if you’re looking for a brand that is straddling the line between retail and experiential shopping, this is the place for you. The combination of curation, culture and cordiality creates a unique and enjoyable experience, no matter what part of the scene you are into.
