The basics:

• Nunzio in Collingswood is hosting a 4/20 pairing dinner featuring CBD- and THC-infused beverages.
• The Italian BYOB collaborated with zero-proof cocktail bar Mercantile 1888 to create the event.
• The focus of the pairing dinner is on relaxation rather than getting high, with each guest’s total dose set below the legal microdose.

Michael DeLone, executive chef and owner at Nunzio in Collingswood, is taking his business to a higher level. In honor of 4/20 – an unofficial holiday celebrating cannabis culture – the Italian BYOB will host a pairing dinner featuring beverages infused with CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) alongside some innovative takes on comfort food.

For the “4/20 Munchie Madness” event scheduled for April 20, DeLone is teaming up with Mercantile 1888, a neighboring business that opened last year as one of the first zero-proof cocktail bars in New Jersey.

Set to run from 6 to 9 p.m., the dinner costs $120 per person and includes four courses paired with cannabinoid-infused mocktails. It is open to adults aged 21 and up and tickets can be purchased at nunziosbyob.com.

With each guest’s total dose set to 4.5 milligrams of THC – below the legal microdose – and 15 milligrams of CBD, the dinner is the perfect opportunity to learn about or explore the lighter side of cannabis, DeLone said.

“It’s a fun event. It’s a way to come out, relax, chill and try different things – especially for the people that are kind of wondering about the THC and CBD drinks. If it’s your first time trying them, it’s a good time to do that because they are measured out and we are not overdosing on it. You are getting the right amount to give you an effect where it’s not going to scare you,” he explained.

“And I think just to see the newer culture of the way things are moving in Jersey with that, it would be a good event to attend just for the knowledge aspect of it,” DeLone added.

At the federal level, hemp-derived cannabinoids like CBD and THC are legal under 2018’s Agriculture Improvement Act as long as they contain no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight basis.

The removal of hemp as a controlled dangerous substance paved the way for a proliferation of products made from CBD and THC, including food and beverages.

Across the country, infused items are finding their way onto a growing number of menus at bars, restaurants and cafes, like Marimba Café in Hackensack, which specializes in CBD drinks and CBD pastries.

Nonalcoholic spirits and cocktails made with CBD and THC are becoming especially popular, with the adult beverage market seeing an uptick in the number of infused drinks promising a hangover-free way to relax and destress.

Teaming up

DeLone said the idea for 4/20 Munchie Madness came while he was chatting with the Food Shelter, a Philadelphia-based public relations agency, about promotional strategies for Nunzio.

“In Collingswood, we’re a dry town, so we can’t include any alcohol or do any sort of wine dinners,” he explained. “So, we thought about the idea of using mocktail or zero-proofed drinks with infusion.”

“That was very new to me and something that I never really thought about doing, but since I don’t have a liquor license that I can make good money on with liquor, it is just trying to find other avenues at this point,” he said.

A few weeks ago, DeLone visited his neighbors down the block at Mercantile 1888, where he pitched Munchie Madness to co-founders and owners Stephanie Kinney and Amanda Lewis.

“We sat down and began putting the drinks together and the ideas of what we could pair with the menu,” DeLone said. “I was kind of blown away by how much a craft it is in doing zero proof. … It was very interesting to me. And then including THC and CBD just really put an edge on it.”

Kinney said they’d never met DeLone before but were “all for it” when he approached them about a cannabis-infused dinner. “He was interested in partnering with us to collaborate and make some drinks to pair with some of the things on his menu,” she explained.

“It’s nice because we’re in this little, small dry town and I think it’s a challenge for some restaurant owners for sure – especially when everything’s BYOB,” she said. “But I think it works out in our favor and it worked out perfectly for this.”

DeLone, who purchased the restaurant in 2021 from one of his mentors in culinary school, chef Nunzio Patruno, “is a little bit more established than we are, so we were flattered he trusted us enough to collaborate and make this menu with him,” Kinney said. “In June, it’ll be our first year of being open.”

Besides being “a great experience to do something different and collaborate with a local business,” DeLone thinks it’s a fun way to “bring both of our customer bases together and introduce each other to what we do.”

“Showcasing our restaurant in a dry town poses obvious challenges, even with a solid mocktail program and BYOB culture. But by teaming up with a local gem like Mercantile 1888, we’re shining a light on the innovative spirit of Collingswood and inviting new guests to experience new things,” he said.

After getting some samples from Mercantile 1888, DeLone created a menu and then went back to Kinney and Lewis to refine the drinks.

“I’ve been trying to get familiar with how restaurants are able to utilize it [CBD and THC] in food, but I have not gotten that far,” DeLone said. “So, the food we’re preparing is strictly just kind of ‘stoner’ food. Our plan is to incorporate the drinks into a fun chill dinner at a fine dining restaurant. Some Italian with a little twist on it to relax.”

The 4/20 Munchie Madness menu includes:

• Hamunchie Crudo, which is a Hamachi strawberry topped with jalapeno, cucumber and balsamic dressing paired with lime cannabis spritz (2.5 milligrams THC made with Cali Sober Ranch Water)
• Loaded Potato Gnocchi with cheddar, guanciale, sour cream, green onion and fried potato skins paired with The Mellow Mike (10 milligrams CBD made with Flyers Bklyn Gold)
• Italian Chicken & Tomato Waffles with sun dried tomato, charred spring onion & honey paired with Weed Wooder (1 milligram THC made with Mighty Kind Watermelon D9 Cannabis Seltzer)
• Up in Smoke S’more, which is a chocolate brownie topped with burnt marshmallow, chocolate custard and graham cracker, and paired with the Elevated Espresso Martini (1 milligram THC and 5 milligram CBD made with Endo Medium Dank Roast Nitro Cold Brew)

A trend gains momentum

With the growing popularity of the sober curious movement – in which consumers drink less or no alcohol – they are seeking out alternatives, like mocktails, alcohol-free beer or beverages infused with cannabis or THC.

Of those drinks, mocktails are likely to be the biggest trend this year and the top non-alcoholic beverage Americans want to try, according to a survey by NCSolutions. In particular, consumers are drawn to THC- or CBD-infused drinks because they are curious about the taste, consider them a healthier alternative to alcohol or think they look nice, the survey found.

At Mercantile 1888, Kinney said she and Lewis had been toying around with the idea of creating infused drinks and that the collaboration with DeLone “nudged us a little bit.” Now, the bar is revamping its menu to include some of the beverages from 4/20 Munchie Madness, she said.

“It’s been fun and it’s kind of challenged us to think outside of the box,” she said. “I’m really, really happy that he reached out to us because I feel like he made us better in a way, which is great. And for him to take a chance and trust that we are good at what we do.”

When they set out to develop infused drinks, Kinney and Lewis found it tricky and connected with Endo Café in Lancaster, Pa., which is a coffee shop built around CBD and THC.

“They’ve taught us a lot. Some things are hard to infuse because a tincture might not mix well with whatever you’re trying to mix it with. The oil might be too thick…so it’s got to be the right ratio. It is all trial and error,” she said.

That’s why for 4/20 Munchie Madness, Kinney said they opted to use CBD and THC that was already in liquid form and blend it with their own recipes.

Kinney said, “Our head behind the menu was to keep it to a pretty low dose since these things could have an effect on people – even though they’re a microdose. For, for his menu, the entire night your getting 4.5 milligrams total. It’s just a little bit in each drink,” said Kinney, noting that some canned CBD and THC drinks contain five milligrams per serving.

Despite the growing accessibility of CBD and THC, Kinney said there’s still a lot of confusion about the two cannabis derivatives. While both can increase relaxation and sleepiness, improve mood and relieve pain, CBD does not contain the same psychoactive properties that THC does.

THC is the “primary chemical compound responsible for cannabis’ euphoric effects,” according to Leafly, an online platform about buying and learning about cannabis.

Delta-8 THC – a less potent form of delta-9 THC – is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill as long as it comes from hemp and contains no more than 0.3% of the chemical. It can be consumed by smoking, as well as oils, edibles, tinctures and capsules.

Unlike THC, CBD is not intoxicating, so users will not feel high when consumed; however, it may help them feel more relaxed or less anxious, according to Leafly. Its most common forms are gels, gummies, oils, supplements and extracts.

Cannabis products, regardless of whether they’re hemp derived, that contain more than 0.3% THC by dry weight are still illegal under federal law. However, more than a dozen states – including those where recreational cannabis is legal, like New York and Colorado – have banned delta-8 or all unregulated forms of THC amid safety concerns over an easily accessible product made with unregulated production processes.

A bill that would make delta-8 products subject to the same regulatory framework as other legal cannabis products in New Jersey failed to advance last year. However, it was reintroduced in January.

“It does get very confusing, I think, for a lot of people…it’s still so new and foreign to a lot of people because it’s not just weed anymore,” Kinney said.

That’s why the pairing dinner will include some talk about what was used to make the drinks, as well as the dosage, Kinney said. “The point is not to get high. It’s just to kind of chill and relax. When people are microdosing, they’re more in it for the relaxation aspect not to get high,” she explained.

The point is not to get high. It’s just to kind of chill and relax. When people are microdosing, they’re more in it for the relaxation aspect not to get high.
– Stephanie Kinney, Mercantile 1888

Since 4/20 Munchie Madness was announced earlier this month, DeLone and Kinney said they detect a definite buzz and they’ve fielded a lot of questions about what will be infused. “I don’t think we were anticipating that, which is great. I think people are looking for a new and unique experience that not many other people can say that they did,” Kinney said.

Over the past year, Kinney said they’ve also been surprised by the response that Mercantile 1888 has received from the community. While common in other parts of the country, like the Midwest, non-alcoholic bars are a relatively new concept in New Jersey, so Kinney and Lewis weren’t sure how well the concept would do locally.

After relocating their home goods shop from Haddonfield to Collingswood in June 2023, Kinney, a therapist, and Lewis, a science teacher, decided to expand their offerings to include a full-service, zero-proof cocktail bar.

Kinney said, “I’m a person in recovery and I’ve never had the space to hang out and feel like an adult because of the sacrifice of not really being able to hang out in a bar. It’s not safe. So, you have to sit a lot of events and things out.

“I think the biggest thing for us was to create this space where people can come and there’s no pressure. You could just be yourself. You can have a mocktail, you could have kombucha,” she said. “It’s just a place to hang out, be comfortable and something that doesn’t revolve around alcohol. For adults, that doesn’t really exist.”

“It’s been really great and we definitely have grown,” she said. “When we first started, we had an idea of just doing a small-scale bar with a few mixed drinks. Now we’re about to come out with a full-fledged three-page menu because that’s what people want.”

“We’ve met so many people whether they are not drinking because of health reasons or they’re not drinking because they’re just taking a break, they’re just not drinking today or they’re in some kind of recovery,” she said.

“We also have some people that are like ‘Why? What’s the point?’ But, the people that understand the point, they really appreciate it,” she said. “Some people may, I don’t know, think we’re on a mission to have everybody in the world stop drinking. The mission is just a safe space for those people that want an alternative experience.”

A thin line

As for cooking with cannabis, CBD or THC, DeLone is curious but has no plans to add it into dishes anytime soon at Nunzio. “Trying to figure it out is one thing, but actually doing it and being successful at it is the difficult part. I’m not even close to trying. It would be trial and error and testing on friends,” he said. “So, I think before I would actually think about doing something food driven, it would take a lot more time to even try to come up with a recipe.”

“You’re toeing a very thin line of how much effect a person wants on whatever they’re buying. So that’s your reputation and if that’s hurt, then your business is hurt,” he said.

Because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulations around the relationship between cannabis and food remains murky, most cafes and restaurants – even in states where cannabis is legal – restrict infusions to beverages only for now.

In New Jersey – which is among the two dozen states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal and recreational use – regulators are finalizing rules that would allow cannabis-infused drinks, butters, jams, candies and pastry-style treats to be sold. In the interim, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission is granting waivers letting manufacturers begin production to meet expected demand.