Fifty million people walk through Times Square every year, and most never look up from their phones long enough to notice they’re standing at the crossroads of the world. Now there’s a green-painted storefront on 7th Avenue running a news ticker, and the only thing it’s selling is cannabis. Welcome to The Daily Green.
You walk in expecting a dispensary, what you get feels closer to the back offices of a publishing house; wood-paneled walls, magazine displays, exit bags printed like newspaper. “Newspaper publishing is part of New York’s iconic history, and we wanted to evoke that timeless newsie energy in our store to give it an authentic NYC vibe,” says Chris Thompson, Director of Operations and Marketing. Think The Daily Planet, or The Daily Bugle. Except instead of Clark Kent banging out copy for the Planet, or Peter Parker taking pictures for The Bugle; there’s a Bud Bar where you put your nose in the flower before you spend a dollar.
“We knew from the start that we needed to let New Yorkers stop and smell the flowers,” he says. The shop prominently displays the top three terpenes for each strain, helping experienced cannabis aficionados pick their favorites and first-timers learn what they like best.
Thompson came east from Las Vegas after nearly a decade in cannabis and consulting gigs in Michigan, Arizona, and Ohio. “The vast majority of our founders and staff are native New Yorkers; I’m one of the only transplants.” GM Anthony Rolland, a Brooklyn native, has helped open four retail stores in the city. Brand Strategist Maggie Connors built brands nationwide, but had her first cannabis experience in Central Park.
On the daily, the shop serves a unique mix of humans: tourists from states and countries where weed is still a felony, Broadway casts, hospitality workers, and Midtown office regulars. “A big part of navigating that wide range is meeting our guests where they’re at and providing an in-person sales floor experience to facilitate real conversations and recommendations,” he says, “And for our locals who want to get in and out as soon as possible, we have an expedited online pickup counter and fast home delivery for that quick New York convenience!”
I’ve loved every event I’ve attended at The Daily Green. In February, I was at their Black History Month showcase, putting Black-owned brands in front of consumers, and in March, I enjoyed lots of new brands at their New York Cannabis Craft Showcase. “To build our local NYC cannabis community, we’re constantly working to host community events and public equity workshops in our second-floor event space,” Thompson says. I appreciate their effort to bring out local musicians to perform, too, like the band Free Whenever and their DJ-in-residence, C2C.
“For me, the goal of working in the cannabis industry has always been to further de-stigmatize the plant for the broader public and expand nationwide access to cannabis,” said Thompson. Every quarter, register round-up totals are donated to a local or national nonprofit; in Q1 2026, the total went to the Last Prisoner Project.
The store curates flower from small-batch operators, and Thompson envisions more to come: “New York is absolutely going to become one of the nation’s powerhouses for cannabis cultivation and production, even more so than it has already been historically. The climate, especially upstate, is perfect for cultivating cannabis both indoors and outdoors.”
In spite of the storied history of the shop’s locale, their team had to establish an identity all their own. Competing against LED billboards and Broadway marquees doesn’t reward subtlety. As Connors puts it: “We had to use brick-to-forehead marketing.” You don’t whisper in Times Square. Read all about it, then go smell it for yourself.
In spite of the storied history of the shop’s locale, their team had to establish an identity all their own. As Connors puts it: “We had to use brick-to-forehead marketing.” Now, every time I hop off the train and look north down 7th Ave, I see the largest LED sign with the word “cannabis” that I’ve ever seen, and I consider stopping into The Daily Green.
