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Jersey City Strawberry Vertical Farm
Elizabeth Morrill

Oishii Opens Huge Indoor Strawberry Farm in Jersey City

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Oishii agricultural technology company announced today the opening of a 74,000-square-foot indoor vertical farm in Jersey City to grow its “Omakase” variety of strawberry, which will be available on the company’s website and in a limited basis at Whole Foods in Manhattan. Previously based in Kearny, the firm is relocating its headquarters to Jersey City as well.

The company first introduced the Omakase Berry in 2018 after which it quickly caught the attention of Michelin-starred chefs and of consumers for its sweetness, aroma, and creamy texture, according to the firm’s press release. The berry has two to three times the level of brix (a measure of sweetness) of conventional strawberries, Oishii said in response to an email.

“At Oishii, we are committed to revolutionize the future of food by offering the best-tasting produce, grown in a way we believe is better for people and better for the planet. Today marks an important step in making good on that promise,” said Hiroki Koga, CEO and Co-Founder of Oishii.

The facility will be located in the former Anheuser-Busch factory at 101 Linden Ave E. and will be the company’s largest and most technologically advanced farm, according to its publicity. Each harvest will be produced using advanced robotics and automation that will require 60 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than first generation technology.

“We’ve worked hard to pioneer advanced technology that unlocks a substantially more efficient way to grow our unrivaled strawberries. Our largest farm yet pairs the next frontier of indoor farming innovation with the care and precision of centuries-old Japanese farming techniques,” said Koga.

That care and precision — heightened sweetness — comes at a price.

Oishii’s Omakase Berries will be sold in bunches equivalent to $1.82 to $8.33 per individual berry. Trays of 11 medium berries or eight large berries will be sold for $20; Trays of six medium berries will cost $11; and trays of three medium berries will cost $6. The special-edition First Flower Berry will cost $50 for a tray of six.

Stony Hill Farms, which sells strawberries at farmers’ throughout Jersey City, charges $5.99 to $8.99 per quart of the “Chandler” variety of the fruit depending on the time of year. According to food website TheSpruceEats, this translates to $0.25 to $0.38 per medium-size berry.

Oishii, named one one of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company magazine in 2022, was the first to grow vertically farmed strawberries for consumers. Management chose the “sophisticated” crop for farming because of its long cultivation cycle and “perfected the fruit through its first-of-its-kind pollination method” in a process without pesticides, Oishii also mentioned.

Those curious about working for Oishii can apply for numerous jobs they have open in sales, marketing, operations, engineering, finance and other areas by visiting the company’s LinkedIn page.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Oishii is a Japanese company.

Plastic bags
Aaron Morrill

Tough New Plastic Bag Ban Goes Into Effect Today

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What some are saying may be the toughest plastic bag ban in the country, goes into effect today.

Beginning on today, New Jersey retail stores, grocery stores and food service businesses may not provide or sell single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam containers. Under some circumstances, single-use paper carryout bags will be allowed. However, grocery stores 2500 square feet or more will only be allowed to provide or sell reusable carryout bags.

Plastic straws may be provided, but only upon the request of the customer.

The law was passed on November 4, 2020. Businesses and consumers were given 18 months to prepare for it. Time is now up.

A “reusable bag” is defined by the DEP as:

    1. One made of polypropylene fabric, PET nonwoven fabric, nylon, cloth, hemp product, or other washable fabric; and
    2. Having stitched handles; and
    3. Designed and manufactured for multiple reuses.
Plastic Bag Ban

Created by NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Violations of the law could be costly. Following a warning for the first offense, a person or entity “may be fined “up to $1,000 per day for the second offense, and may be fined up to $5,000 per day for the third and subsequent violations.”

 

Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

Kim Myles Jersey City
Melissa Surach

Heights Woman Revamps Cannabis Dispensaries on Discovery Plus

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Kim Myles, the creator, producer and star of High Design on Discovery Plus, is one of many people who yesterday celebrated the first day of legal cannabis sales in New Jersey.

Myles won HGTV’s Design Star 2 award in 2007, and her show Myles of Style ran for three seasons on HGTV. She won an Emmy for the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Home Made Simple.

On High Design, which premiered April 13, Myles makes over struggling mom and pop cannabis dispensaries. “I’m going to take what I know—my expertise as a designer, worker in cannabis world, and consumer—to lift up mom and pop shops,” she said.

“I’ve been a lover of cannabis since I was 20, so…many years.” She laughed, “It was striking to me that I was in dispensaries and spending a lot of money and the retail experience did not match the receipt. Looking around waiting rooms, there was a diverse range of people,  diverse range of ethnicities, ages, and needs. Why are all of us standing around in hovels like we’re doing something wrong?” she wondered.

Myles decided to rectify the situation. She spent 2017 working her way up from “budtender” to assistant general manager of a major dispensary in Beverly Hills in order to understand the retail cannabis business (or “cannabusiness as it’s called) and learn the moving parts of the industry and the legal issues involved. “It’s like normal retail jacked up 100 percent as far as complications,” she said.

And even though she had worked for a larger outfit, Myles said she had always supported smaller dispensaries.

“We wanted to cast a diversity of stories, different stories in different states, different backgrounds, different women, different people of color. I wanted to dip in as much as I could in six episodes: why so many people are getting into [the cannabis business] and what the hurdles are.”

For Myles, the process is not just artistic in nature but emotional. On the first episode, she cried after the reveal ”because this is why, this is the point: real people, real entrepreneurs in the green rush of this amazing industry, and these small mom and pops fighting to hold on and compete in this onslaught of huge corporate money,” she explained.

The biggest challenge Myles faced in the show was navigating each state’s laws. “For example, you can’t come in through one door because there is a live feed to the state. If someone from my team doesn’t have an ID, that’s a $100 thousand fine to the owner,” she said. Or another example: Some states allow TV crews to touch cannabis while dressing the sets; other states don’t.

Myles moved to Jersey City in 2018 “because Jersey City is the bomb.” Originally from Queens, she moved to LA for work, and said that when it came time to come back to the East Coast, she wanted to live in Harlem but that “when it came time to buy, I said, ‘Hi Jersey City!’—particularly the Heights. I love the vibrant, artistic, diversity of people, the old buildings, the super old gross trees…the best restaurants. it’s alive, and it feels really good. It’s a good vibe and good community.”

Myles looks forward to visiting local spots such as Leaf Joint once they are an approved dispensary. “I never thought when I was buying my weed from a dude in the apartment downstairs that one day I would be able to see this, to be able to buy my medicine,” she reflected.

143 Christopher Columbus Drive
Aaron Morrill

Early Morning Fire Destroys Downtown Music Studio and Jiu Jitsu Academy

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Early this morning the music stopped for JC Studios when a fire destroyed much of the five story building the business has called home.

The rehearsal space and recording studio has occupied the second floor of the building at the corner of Christopher Columbus Drive and Barrow Street for ten years.

A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy on an upper floor was also left homeless by the fire.

This morning, a fire investigator sifting through the rubble declined to be interviewed or photographed. A drum set could be seen through a lower floor window.

Owner Sam Palubniak was out of town at the time of the fire and still gathering information this morning. According to Palubniak, the fire caused no injuries and his business is insured.

The fire has brought brought back memories for many. Lex Leonard had an intimate connection to the building. “Almost two decades ago, I founded the Waterbug Hotel, which was headquartered in this beautiful historic building. Someone who did research on this building discovered that it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. I wouldn’t doubt it since I recall finding a bricked up archway in the basement. Anyway, I ran this place for almost a decade, and I, along with a myriad others, called it home, an inspiration, an escape, an institute. It was a full-on intentional community of artists, musicians, and other interesting personages — truly worthy of being written about or at least mentioned in the annals of this small city’s history.”

143 Christopher Columbus Drive is part of the Columbus Corners Redevelopment Area.

In December of 2020, the building was purchased by 143 Christopher Columbus, LLC, located at 493 Jersey Avenue in Jersey City.

The Jersey City Times has learned that within the last year, a builder approached the Van Vorst Neighborhood Association with inquiries about a potential development there.

143 Christopher Columbus Drive

143 Christopher Columbus Drive

Plastic bags
Aaron Morrill

Tough New Plastic Bag Ban Goes Into Effect on May 4th

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In what some are saying may be the toughest plastic bag ban in the country, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is issuing a reminder to all.

Beginning on May 4, 2022, New Jersey retail stores, grocery stores and food service businesses may not provide or sell single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam containers. Under some circumstances, single-use paper carryout bags will be allowed. However, grocery stores 2500 square feet or more will only be allowed to provide or sell reusable carryout bags.

After November 4, 2021, plastic straws may be provided, but only upon the request of the customer.

The law was passed on November 4, 2020. Businesses and consumers were given 18 months to prepare for it. Time is now up.

A “reusable bag” is defined by the DEP as:

    1. One made of polypropylene fabric, PET nonwoven fabric, nylon, cloth, hemp product, or other washable fabric; and
    2. Having stitched handles; and
    3. Designed and manufactured for multiple reuses.
Plastic Bag Ban

Created by NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Violations of the law could be costly. Following a warning for the first offense, a person or entity “may be fined “up to $1,000 per day for the second offense, and may be fined up to $5,000 per day for the third and subsequent violations.”

 

Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

Cannabis Marijuana
Melissa Surach

Planning Board Approves Seven Locations for Cannabis

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Last night the Jersey City Planning Board held a special meeting to evaluate a dozen Cannabis Class 5 (retail business) applications with respect to the city’s zoning laws. The meeting lasted seven hours, ending after 12:30 am without board members’ hearing from two applicants.

This is only one step in the approval of Class 5 cannabis businesses. Matt Ward, supervising planner, opened the meeting by clarifying that it was to address whether these businesses are in districts that permit Class 5 and outside the defined buffer zones around schools and existing cannabis businesses 200 feet from any school and 600 feet from any existing Class 5 business (with a carve-out for “microbusinesses”).

There are no Class 5 businesses in Jersey City yet. A business will not be considered to be in existence until it receives approvals from the city’s Planning Board, Cannabis Control Board, and Cannabis Regulatory Commission and until it has received all necessary construction permits

The meeting was open to the public but not for the purpose of hearing substantive objections. “If anyone wants to debate the evil of cannabis, tonight is not your night,” chairman Christopher Langston said.

Other issues considered per application were community impact and quality of life issues like noise, odor, ventilation, security

First on the agenda was Idyllx at 171 Newark Avenue, which is one of a cluster of applicants on lower Newark Avenue near the Grove Street PATH Station. Two people called in objecting that this location, among other smoke shops on Newark Avenue, was already selling marijuana — illegally. One of the callers was Shayla Cabrera, aka “Tia Planta,” who was recently awarded a Recreational Cannabis Class 1 Cultivator License. She said that by selling illegally, Idyllx cuts into her market and that additionally they have done nothing for the community.

To the illegal marijuana allegations, Matthew Miller, the attorney for Idyllx, said the shop sold only CBD and the psychoactive substance Delta 8, which is found in the Cannabis sativa plant.

He addressed the board, “I encourage you to stop by the shop, bring the police.”

The board and its legal counsel, Santo T. Alampi, emphasized that illegal marijuana sales was not a zoning board issue, but the bailiwick of the police and the local prosecutor’s office.

In addition to zoning, businesses described their proposed community outreach and impact. Some businesses will have employees do paid community service at organizations such as Liberty Humane Society. Others will have owners or employees teach about cannabis as a safer alternative for pain relief than opioids. Brett D’Allesandro, a veteran of Afghanistan, has devoted his life to helping veterans, especially those homeless and at-risk, with his organization Backpacks for Life. He plans on opening Golden Door Dispensary to expand on his work with veterans.

The night ended with Medusa NJ’s application for 759A Bergen Avenue. Haytham Elgawly, Medusa’s owner, said he was born and raised in Jersey City and was applying as a “social equity“ business due to a marijuana charge years ago. His business, Medusa, will be a cannabis retailer and indoor consumption area.

Discussion of Elgawly’s application was lengthy and heated.

Jersey City Planning Board Cannabis Meeting

Jersey City Planning Board Cannabis Meeting

Matthew J. Ceres, counsel to Hudson Catholic, and Eugene Paulino, counsel to Saint Peter’s, attacked Haytham Elgawly’s application from every angle, especially arguing that it violated the 200-foot buffer zone from a school. Paulino said it was next a Saint Peter’s University dorm.

The board asked if St. Peter’s was on the map, to which Paulino laughed, “I think we all know St. Peter’s is on the map!” referring to the Peacock’s recent March Madness streak.

The board struck down that argument saying the buffer only applied to primary and secondary schools.

Next, Ceres attempted to dispute the map provided by Medusa’s expert witness, DPK Consulting, a surveying company. The board sided with Medusa, saying the map showed that the main entrance of Medusa would be outside the buffer around Hudson Catholic. The board noted that Ceres could have provided a surveyor as an expert witness as he had had ample time since the notice on March 7 to provide one. Further testimony was provided concerning how Medusa employees would transport money and put it in a bank. Medusa’s team said that much of that information was confidential due to security concerns.

Ceres also challenged Medusa’s application on the basis of parking zoning around the proposed site. After an intense near-interrogation of Planning Board Director Tanya Marion regarding parking spaces required for the application, she snapped “I can read. And I can count …You are completely incorrect.” The board noted that Ceres could have brought a planner to challenge their findings, to which he scoffed, “What plans?”

Apparently, some application materials including a staff memo had not been uploaded in the agenda available to the public. After much back and forth, this interaction concluded with a grueling midnight reading of the full three-page memo.

The board decided to carry [extend] the hearing to April 5 to give Ceres time to read the staff memo and secure a surveyor and planner at which point Council President Joyce Watterman vehemently objected. “We’re done. We passed that.” She noted that the board had already taken their position that Medusa had had ample time to present a surveyor. Commissioner Joey Torres also noted that if the hearing was carried, the public would not have the right to speak at it.

Watterman said that it wasn’t right that the public wouldn’t be able to speak at the next meeting on this application but that they were making an exception for the attorney.

Ultimately the board sided with the recommendation of their lawyer, Alampi, to carry to avoid any potential litigation against the board.

Elgawly, exasperated, addressed the board, “I pay these professionals [out of pocket]. I’m a local kid; I’m not rich like a lot of applicants here tonight.”

He said that seven hours of consideration plus carrying the case to next week was hurtful economically. Medusa’s application had been discussed for over two hours.

Oceanfront LLC at 141 Newark Avenue was also carried to April due to lack of documentation.

The board approved licenses (with conditions) for Idyllx (171 Newark Avenue), Strictly CBD (394 Communipaw), Golden Door Dispensary (638 Newark Avenue), Decades Dispensary (404 Central Avenue), Local Modiv (155 Newark Avenue), Artistic Dispensary (365 Central), and MMDNJ (655 Newark Avenue).

The next Planning Board Meeting will take place April 5.

Photo by Jeff W on Unsplash

Aaron Morrill

Gas is Going Up: Time to Buy an Electric Car

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With gas prices in New Jersey averaging $4.20 a gallon thanks to Vladimir Putin and the Wall Street Journal reporting that car buyers are now looking more seriously at EVs, I’m republishing this piece, originally entitled “Five Reasons to Buy an Electric Car” from 2020.  I’ve made a few updates, which are in italics.

I was having my hair cut the other day and chatting with the guy with the scissors when the conversation turned to automobiles. He had recently test driven a Tesla Model 3, I learned. His original plan had been to buy a Subaru, but he figured it was a good opportunity to see what all the EV (electric vehicle) fuss was about. That drive was all it took. “It was amazing, so fast and smooth,” he told me. Now he’s planning on buying a Tesla.  He bought one and loves it.

I didn’t need any convincing. For close to three years (now four-and-a-half)  I’ve been driving an electric Chevrolet Bolt. It’s persuaded me that, indeed, the future of transportation is electric and that the internal combustion engine (ICE) will soon be a curiosity relegated to transportation museums, right next to the steam engine.

Here’s why.

  1. The driving experience is much better. I like sporty cars that are fun to drive. My previous car was a Volkswagen GTI, a classic “hot-hatch” known for its pep and handling. My Bolt is better in almost every way. It’s quicker because unlike an ICE, the power is immediately available. There’s no revving the engine or searching for a better gear because most EV have only one gear. In traffic, you tap the accelerator, and you’re off like a slingshot: no lag.  Think Han Solo switching to hyper space in the Millennium Falcon. Moreover, the engine is virtually silent and free of vibration. It’s so quiet, in fact, that manufacturers have had to add fake sound so you don’t mow down unsuspecting pedestrians.
  2. EVs are virtually maintenance free. According to Tesla, their drivetrain has only about 17 moving parts compared to the 200 or so in a typical ICE vehicle. My Bolt has 80% fewer moving parts than your average ICE vehicle. And this holds true for all EVs. There are no belts, spark plugs, oil changes, you name it. I’ve yet to take my Bolt in for any maintenance (though yes, you still have to rotate tires and change windshield wipers).  Of 141,000 Chevrolet Bolts made, 16 caught fire due to an extremely rare manufacturing anomaly. My car was recalled and a brand new, better battery with longer range, was installed free of charge. It was like getting a brand new engine in an ICE vehicle.
  3. The “Gas” is Cheap. One of the joys of owning an EV is never having to visit a gas station. But beyond keeping your hands clean and avoiding the fumes, you pay substantially less per mile to drive an EV. My Bolt has a range of 239 miles (259 with the new battery). At 17 cents a kilowatt, charging its 60kW battery at home costs approximately $10.  (Public charging will cost approximately 30 cents per kilowatt.) With the average car in the U.S. getting 25.1 miles per gallon and the average price of regular gas in New Jersey at $2.22 (now $4.20) per gallon, you would drop $21 (now $43) bucks to travel the same distance. That savings adds up over time.
  4. You’ll be Fighting Climate Change. I won’t belabor the issue of global warming. You’ve all heard the science.  What I will point out is that even if your electricity comes from coal—which in New Jersey it doesn’t—EVs are still better for the environment, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
  5. You’ll Be the Life of the Party. Not really. But people will corner you and want to know all about your car. And at a party where the conversation is lagging, that can be a godsend. (Not so much anymore as Teslas are all over.)

What about charging and the much discussed “range anxiety?” Well, as to charging, if you’re lucky enough to have a driveway or garage or own a brownstone, you’re golden. For $500, you can buy a “Level 2” charger and fill the “tank” up every night. If not, public chargers — which cost a little more per kilowatt — are sprouting up everywhere, including here in Jersey City.

And as for range anxiety? Well, if you’re going on a long trip—more than 200 miles in a day—you’ll launch your trusty Chargepoint or PlugShare app on your phone before heading out the door, and it will tell you where you can stop for lunch and use a fast “Level 3” charger.  (During these stops my wife likes to get exercise. I hit the nearest restaurant.) Yes, it requires a little planning, and there are still rural areas lacking fast chargers. But, really, aren’t these minor inconveniences a small price to pay to change the world?

 

 

 

Cell Tower
Aaron Morrill

Jersey City Has Fastest Cellular Service in the U.S.

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As if St. Peter’s Peacocks’ thrilling victories during March Madness weren’t enough to celebrate, a recent study crowned Jersey City first in the nation when it comes to cellular service.

According to broadband-metrics company Ookla, Jersey City had the fastest median mobile download speed among the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2021. Tampa, Florida was second; Washington, D.C. third; Baltimore, Maryland fourth and St. Paul, Minnesota fifth.

Among the states, New Jersey came in second, bested only by the District of Columbia.

Jersey City achieved its ranking with average download speeds among all providers of 107.20 megabits per second (Mbps), a measure of the download rate of an internet connection.

In the cases of both Jersey City and New Jersey overall, T-Mobile provided the fastest connections, by far, of 147.14 Mbps and 103.21 Mbps respectively.

Nationally, T-Mobile trounced Verizon and AT&T as well, with a median download speed of 90.65 Mbps compared to AT&T’s 49.25 and Verizon’s 44.67.

Lubbock, Texas had the nation’s slowest median mobile download speed, followed by Lincoln, Reno, Nevada, Fresno, California and Orlando.

T-Mobile was the fastest operator in 80 of the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. Verizon Wireless and AT&T were the fastest providers in two cities and UScellular was fastest in one city (Madison, Wisconsin). The results were statistically too close to call in 15 cities.

Jersey City’s 5G cell service was previously called “bananas” by the Wall Street Journal.

 

Photo by Vyacheslav Shatskiy on Unsplash

Cool Vines Jersey City
Andrea Crowley-Hughes

A Local Entrepreneur Wants to Make Buying Wine Easy for Regular People

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Mark Censits wants you to leave his wine store, Cool Vines, confident you’ve bought just the right spirit for your needs. And he wants to make it easier. Those were his goals in designing both the locations the local entrepreneur runs in Jersey City: one in the Powerhouse Arts District and the other near City Hall.

“The wine piece of it came from my own personal, frustrated journey of trying to understand this very obtuse and complicated consumer product category,” Censits said. “I think a lot of people felt the same way.”

Instead grouping wines by country of origin or grape variety, Cool Vines organizes and labels its wines by “taste profile” – using terms related to the color (red, white, rosé and orange), the method of production (still, sparkling, sweet, fortified), style (Modern, traditional) and body (light, medium and full).  For wines that can be dry or sweet (eg. riesling) they code them as dry, off-dry or sweet.

“We don’t expect a customer to walk in and know the difference between the Loire Valley and the Rhone Valley in France and make a selection” Censits said. “My goal was to create a space where people could come shop for wine and feel safe that we had already done all the homework.”

Staff members are involved in tasting and picking wines, and they’re trained to guide customers to the best choices for their preferences or occasion.

The wines Censits carries come from around the world and range from $10 bottles to handcrafted varieties for $30 or $40. A typical bottle costs $15.

Cool Vines' First Location on Grove Street

Cool Vines’ First Location on Grove Street

It was after working for large corporations that Censits decided to shift gears and create his own, more community-focused, business.

“I was working in the corporate world and decided it was time to do something more from the heart and something that was local, and I really wanted to do brick and mortar,” Censits told the Jersey City Times. “I was in consulting before this and it was so intangible, so doing something that was a place in the community was part of it as well.”

He opened the first Jersey City Cool Vines location in 2014, at first operating in a tiny space across the street from City Hall, then in 2016 moving into the current Grove Street location, which houses a specialty food market.

Next came the Powerhouse location at 350 Warren St. The Modera Lofts apartment building, a former warehouse that escaped demolition, called to Censits with its wood beams, loft ceilings, and exposed masonry. He opened a Cool Vines outpost on its ground floor in 2018 that contains an art space, a café that is also BYOB, and a section for accessories and gifts.

Censits has gone on to open locations in Hoboken and Newark.

Censits lives in Jersey City, one of his sons runs one of the stores, and his daughter, a designer, has worked on fixtures and store designs.

Gourmet food, which first debuted at the Grove Street store, is part of Censits’ plan to make the stores a “full suite of kind of similar lifestyle products with wine still at the core, but a lot of other things that complement the wine world.” To Censits, “design” is the operative word.

Centsis said most of the stores’ customers care about the source of the product, from both an environmental and a social standpoint.

“Now we’re paying attention to minority-owned and women-owned wineries and trying to spotlight them,” Censits said.

Wine and liquor delivery, a service Cool Vines already provided before the pandemic, became a core part of the business when Covid-19 restrictions on restaurant dining were put in place in 2020.

“We really had to beef it up, and so we expanded our territory. We ended up including Bayonne and Hoboken,” Censits said. “We had the car going out every day whereas before that it was just Wednesdays and Saturdays we did deliveries.”

Cool vines displayCensits said during the height of Covid restrictions, “if you wanted alcohol, you couldn’t go out to a restaurant or a bar, so people were doing a lot more takeout. They were eating in their rooms and drinking good wine.”

After a period of the store feeling “sterile” with most of its customers requesting delivery, Cool Vines community events are now back on. The stores hold wine tastings every Friday and beer tastings every Thursday.

In addition to Covid-related challenges, Cool Vines also struggles to make its presence known outside the Grove Street location, which attracts people wandering through the shopping district. The Powerhouse store is in an arts district that’s “burgeoning in terms of apartments but not really yet terms of a lot of commercial activity,” Censits observed.

“Getting the message out of who we are, what we do, how we’re different, and why we think we have something unique to offer is still remains a challenge,” he said. “Giving people a reason to stop by and check us out is it’s still something that we have to work at every day.”

The store has a social media presence, posting about tastings, events and unique offerings on Instagram, but “people are so inundated now with information from social media and online media.”

Monthly live music events are sometimes paired with art exhibits at the Powerhouse store, where Art Wall JC, a non-profit program of Powerhouse Arts Festival Corp., puts up work by local artists. The events are free.

The next Art Wall opening will feature the work of Lucy Rovetto and take place Thursday, April 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. followed by live music from 8 to 10 p.m. Complimentary wine will be provided.

Medly Pharmacy Jersey City
Aaron Morrill

Downtown’s New Pharmacy Aims to Disrupt the Industry

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The aquamarine storefront is hard to miss. Next to the more subdued colors typically found Downtown, the facade of Medly Pharmacy cries out for attention. But that’s probably the point for the ambitious, five year-old startup with deep pockets and a plan to disrupt the $300 billion retail drugstore business.

Most of Medly’s business will be delivery. “We offer free, same-day delivery” explained Faheem Memon, Medly’s generał manager and Northeast vice president. Medly, he said, will deliver anywhere within a 50-mile radius of the store and do it the same day provided the order is received early enough.

Medly is located at 152 Newark Ave., the building formerly occupied by Downtown Hardware.

“We try to make things as seamless as possible for the patient. One example is that we have a zero click technology that is proprietary to our brand where we’ll get the prescription in, we’ll process the prescription, and the patient will get a text message with a link. They can click on that link and it’s going to give them instant access to schedule their delivery at their convenience.”

Maybe it isn’t quite “zero” clicks but it sounds easy enough.

According to Memon, Medly will carry all the drugs that one finds in the national chains. “What differentiates us is that we deal with a lot of specialty medications … the traditional CVSs and Walgreens don’t really handle these on a regular basis because there are stricter processes that need to be followed.”

Specialty medications are used to treat patients with complex or rare diseases. Such medications have special dosage, storage, handling, and administration requirements and require more patient care and monitoring services.

Memon said that Medly will be price competitive with other pharmacies but will go a step further to lessen co-pays. “One unique thing that we will do that other brands will not is that we will find every avenue to lessen that co-pay burden on the patient. Sometimes that will be a manufacturer’s coupon … sometimes that’s going to be a grant that we will help the patient get to support them through the medical needs they have.”

While Medly’s other locations are set up purely for delivery, the Jersey City location is the company’s first to allow customers to come in and purchase a selection of “curated” natural vitamins and supplements, sports nutrition products, healthful snacks and beverages as well as over-the-counter medications. A natural health practitioner to advise patients on “their holistic health and wellness needs” will also be available for consultations on premises.

Perhaps the best way to describe Medly is a cross between Doordash, Walgreens and your local trendy “apothecary” doling out homeopathic remedies.

With three pharmacies within a block of its new location and massive national chains to compete with, Medly will have its work cut out for it. But who knows? Flush with a $100 million war chest raised in 2020, the Brooklyn-based Medly may just have what it takes to succeed.