Taking inspiration from hospitality and fashion, these head shops have a competitive advantage: their vibes.

BY RACHEL DAVIES, FREELANCE WRITER

If there is a dominant aesthetic for New York City’s cannabis dispensaries, it’s that of the afterthought. Aggressively LED-lit with plain shelving, the retail experience is hardly different from the experience of visiting a head shop. But a little less than two and a half years into the legalization of recreational cannabis dispensaries, a few New York City retailers have emerged to present their own aesthetic vision beyond this average—and, in turn, have created spaces that customers are eager to return to. 

The Travel Agency was early to the scene as the third legal dispensary in the city, opening in 2023. It now has three locations—Fifth Avenue, Union Square, and Downtown Brooklyn—with a fourth in SoHo coming soon. Designed by architecture firm Leong Leong, the locations differ in specific details, but they’re unified by their limewash walls and stylish built-in glass display cases.

According to the Travel Agency co-founder and president Arana Hankin-Biggers, the firm worked to create a space that felt very different from the streets of New York City—transportive, one could say. Though Leong Leong has cited Eero Saarinen’s TWA Terminal as one inspiration for the Union Square location, without the bold pop of color, the shops equally recall the quiet luxury of Kim Kardashian’s viral Axel Vervoordt-designed home. 

Meanwhile, Gotham—which opened in 2023 and now has four locations in New York City— presents a new context for cannabis, not just through its........

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