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Members of the Kushner family pose for a photo with Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and members of the township council following approval of a resolution in support of the Kush Connection dispensary. - KUSH CONNECTION
Members of the Kushner family pose for a photo with Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and members of the township council following approval of a resolution in support of the Kush Connection dispensary. - KUSH CONNECTION
Family-owned cannabis dispensary set to launch in Montclair
Kimberly Redmond//May 30, 2023//
Listen to this articleA New Jersey couple with longstanding, successful careers in the radio broadcast industry is taking their love of music to an even higher level.
By early 2024, Steve and Patty Steele Kushner plan to open a themed recreational dispensary in Montclair that celebrates the deep-rooted connection between cannabis and music.
Located at 135 Valley Road, Kush Connection will offer a broad selection of premium products, including flower, edible and concentrates — all of which will be locally sourced from New Jersey-based cultivators and manufacturers and rigorously tested to ensure quality and safety.
As part of a commitment to help customers learn more about cannabis and its potential benefits, Kush Connection will be staffed by knowledgeable professionals as well as host events and workshops about the latest developments in the industry.
“We are excited to bring Kush Connection to Montclair and provide our customers with access to high-quality cannabis products, while celebrating what makes Montclair so amazing,” said Patty Steele Kushner, a rock ‘n’ roll radio legend in New York for more than three decades.
Most recently, she co-hosted the morning show on oldies station WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) and moved on after her colleague Scott Shannon retired in December 2022. Currently, she is developing a podcast channel that will launch in a few months with iHeartMedia.
“Our goal is to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone can feel comfortable and confident in their purchases. Our goal is to make this a retail destination that celebrates our love for music, art, and the community.” said Steve Kushner, whose background includes working as a program director for big stations such as Z100 New York and K-ROCK. He now owns a marketing company and radio station/streaming service.
According to their son, Jake Kushner, the business expects to open around the 2023 holiday season or shortly after the start of the new year.
Along with a receiving resolution of support from the Montclair Township Council, the business secured conditional approval from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
“As soon as we have our zoning approval from Montclair and our buildout is completed, we’ll have the CRC do their final inspection and then we’ll be allowed to open,” Jake Kushner explained.
Survey says
A recent Stockton University polls offered insight to how New Jerseyans feel about the infancy of the legal cannabis market as well as breweries here in the Garden State. Click here to read the findings.
Ahead of the grand opening, he said they’re looking forward to building a family-owned local brand in the community they’ve lived for over 30 years.
“When I brought this idea to my family’s attention, they each agreed we had an opportunity to build something special together in our hometown,” Jake Kushner told NJBIZ. “It’s been a team effort ever since and it’s worked out well for us.”
Updates will be posted @KushConnectionMTC on Instagram. The dispensary also plans to launch a website, kushconnection.com, in coming weeks.
