One of area's first recreational marijuana stores to open in April near Routes 70 and 73 in Marlton.

For 70 years, the building near the intersection of Routes 70 and 73 in Marlton held realty offices, but in April it will open as one of this area's first recreational marijuana retail stores.

Highway 90, an early entrant into New Jersey's infant recreational cannabis industry, will strive for an "upscale feel" to the store that is expected to be crowded in its early days before competitors begin to open their stores, said owner and licensee Alex Lahn.

His family's company, Lahn Hospitality & Amusement Group, owns Cherry Hill's Legacy Club at Woodcrest and the Mount Laurel Funplex amusement complex.

The building at 90 Old Marlton Pike, behind the Marlton Crossing shopping center and south of Route 70, is owned by Lahn Real Estate Inc. The firm in November received approval from the Evesham Planning Board in a 5-2 vote for the location.

Store hours will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to its website.

In recent weeks, the news media has been full of reports of planned cannabis operations, largely because the business needs municipal approval for a potential location before it can apply to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission for a license. 

However, a marijuana business needs an annual license from the commission before it can open its doors. Some applicants may never succeed in getting a license.

Lahn, a cannabis entrepreneur who got his state annual license approval in February, said he is excited for the central location of the store, which also is on the way to the Jersey Shore.

"There will be a need for crowd control," Lahn told 70and73.com in an interview. "I'm excited to be part of the industry."

That industry was set up as a chain of businesses from growers to end user when New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in February 2021 signed the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act. Separate licenses are required for cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, deliverers and testing laboratories.

Among the first cultivators in the region will be Bass River Buds LLC of Bass River, Burlington County. The grower got its annual license in February.

License holder Evan Manaresi told 70and73.com that he is renovating an old storage building on his home's property for a growing space of 2,500 square feet. His projection is that once the operation is running it will produce about 600 pounds of cannabis a year.

"I've been kind of seeking an entrepreneurial idea for a while," said Manaresi, who lives on 40 acres that has a large vegetable garden and chickens.

He estimated his investment will total $750,000, including building renovations, before the business gets started growing plants.

Manaresi said the emphasis will be on high-quality and small-scale production, favoring the small retailer. "I'd rather see my product at a farmstand than Walmart," he said.

Depending on the genetic background of the seeds, cannabis flower can vary in strength, color and flavor, he said.

"Some consumers just care about getting high, other consumers really love the plant and care about how the product is grown and what it smells and tastes like," Manaresi said.

One of the first retailers in the Moorestown area will be Miles of Green LLC, which in December was approved by the state for an annual license. The firm last March received Moorestown Township approval.

Fred Green, of Mount Laurel, told 70and73.com his goal for a retail store near Glen Avenue is to operate a business with showcases, featuring cannabis products just as a jeweler shows off jewelry.

Green, who is Black and grew up in Pittsburgh's housing projects, went to Virginia State University as an undergraduate and received his master's degree in finance from Boston University. He was a stockbroker and owns a medical supply company in Princeton.

The state's cannabis law was designed to encourage ownership by minority entrepreneurs.

His three partners also are minorities: Paul Miles, of Princeton, is a business partner in Green's medical supply firm; Brian Taylor, of Lambertville, is a director in a pharmaceutical company and Denise Williams, of Villanova, Pennsylvania, operates her own staffing company, according to Green. Miles and Taylor are Black and Williams is of Vietnamese and Cambodian descent, he said.

He said he and Miles came up with the idea in 2019 when they considered family members who used cannabis for pain relief. They were going to apply for a New Jersey medical marijuana license, but because of the timetable decided to hold off. When recreational marijuana became legal, they decided to pursue a license. 

The business plan for the firm, which is funded solely by the four partners, shows them making a profit in the first six months, Green said.

At least two of the partners will be on-site at the business. "In order to be a successful business, you have to be there," Green said.

Green's research shows that cannabis retailers report high volumes of customers and sales.

"One of the main things they attribute to their success is getting people in and out," he said.

In Marlton, Lahn plans for crowds after opening. He is not worried about the eventual competition, with some cannabis retailers proposing stores blocks away.

"Competition will breed more customers," Lahn said.