Welcome The Green Room: Westfield's First CBD Shop

Westfield NJ

11 February, 2022

2:31 PM

Description

WESTFIELD, NJ — From THC gummies to chocolate chip cookie edibles and hemp BBQ hot sauce, The Green Room has a wide variety of CBD products to offer new customers in Westfield. The Green Room official opens its Westfield location on Friday as the town's first CBD-only store. Other current locations for The Green Room include Hoboken, Montclair, Red Bank and Jersey City. Check out this Instagram video featuring Mayor Shelley Brindle at The Green Room's opening day in Westfield: View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Green Room (@thegreenroomnj) Owner Darek Michael, a 27-year-old from Bergen County, said that before starting his business, he was reporter for NBC News living in France. When he moved back home, he started working at a bar in the Lower East Side of New York City. Michael said he was "absolutely miserable" after leaving France but felt inspired one day after taking a late-night walk in the city. "I was walking back to my car at four in the morning and I walked by a CBD store in Lower Manhattan, and bells went off in my head and I said, 'this is my opportunity,'" Michael said. "I started working there for a few months ... and I ended up asking my parents to give me a loan to open up my first location." Michael said he learned a lot about the CBD industry from working at the store in New York City, and he eventually opened his first location in Downtown Hoboken in Sept. of 2019. The Green Room now has two locations in Hoboken. Stepping into the CBD business allowed Michael to utilize his creative skills, which he felt he was unable to do in corporate America. "Realistically for me, it was the lack of creative freedom working for corporate America," Michael said. "And then being able to have that ability now to be free of that and let the creative juices really flow ... I felt like that was the American Dream." With the brand, Michael said one of his goals is to bring his products to high-commuter areas — like Westfield. He said there has been an influx of people moving to North Jersey towns, such as Summit and Chatham, from New York since the pandemic. He saw this as an opportunity to expand his business. Michael said something that makes The Green Room unique is that they make all of the products in-house, whereas other brands buy their cannabis products wholesale. He referred to The Green Room as the "Trader Joe's of CBD." Michael purchased a warehouse in his hometown that will be dedicated to manufacturing all of The Green Room's CBD products. These products range anywhere from flour to topical creams and tinctures and edibles, Michael explained. They sell a variety of vape cartridges and even a whole CBD line for pets. Some interesting products include CBD honey sticks, lollipops and hot BBQ sauce. "The brand's evolved into less of just a CBD store but more of a general cannabis shop specializing on the hemp side and transitioning into more of like a holistic wellness store," Michael said. "People come to us naturally now just to feel better." He said each store sells different products, depending on the location and demographic. All of the products they offer can be viewed on their website. People can also take a CBD quiz to find out what products will work best for their needs. Have a news tip? Email [email protected]. Get a free morning newsletter with news in Westfield or another town: https://patch.com/subscribe