The Terrapin Care Station dispensary chain has opened Hoboken’s first medical and recreational cannabis dispensary simply called “The Station,” with a formal grand opening set for Friday evening.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“Hoboken is a city of many firsts. The Station will be a new first for Hoboken as we usher in destigmatization and cannabis legalization in the Garden State,” local partner Joe Castelo explained.
“I’m honored to be but a small part of bringing safe and exciting products to everyone in my hometown.”
Castelo is a local serial entrepreneur who spearheaded the Station’s opening. He designed the Station dispensary as a tribute to Hoboken’s train station, the Lackawanna Terminal, which is nearby their 86 River St. address.
The Station dispensary has a retro feel with fine wood, stained glass patterns, and unique light fixtures. There are also the sort of wooden benches you’d find in a train station.
Also similar to a train station, the dispensary floor is made of marble with brass between the tile.
The colored glass panels reference the work of the noted abstract artist Piet Mondrian who Castelo likes. They have also painted wallpaper from the 1950s as part of the retro theme.
Thus, its atmosphere was among the more creative versus the cold Apple store vibe of a lot of legal New Jersey cannabis dispensaries.
Terrapin Care Station is a cannabis corporation that is a Multi-State Operator (MSO) with locations in Colorado and Mississippi.
“It was such a long time coming. I can’t believe the moment has arrived. I’m just so excited,” Castelo explained.
“What’s your destination? Where do you want to go with cannabis? The customer is like the passenger, and we’re helping them go where they want to go. I feel like there was even more incentive from the state to prop up the medical business. Anything you could do to help it.”
They feature many of the MSO and White Label brands like the MSO Cookies, which had some of its New Jersey operations in Harrison featured in the New York Times recently.
He compared it to the coffee business, where many people care where their coffee beans come from.
“Here in this particular market, it’s all about curation. Cannabis shops are becoming like high-end coffee shops. Who’s got the best beans? Who put the most thought into where they source them and where stuff comes from?” Castelo noted.
“New beans, smaller growers, who really take the time to grow their beans and curate them, that’s what I’m after.”
The medical side of The Station dispensary opened in the fall and the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC) approved their expansion into the adult use cannabis market at their December 2023 meeting as the “Terrapin Investment Fund II.”
They have been trying to open a Hoboken cannabis dispensary since 2020.
Castelo noted he is a long-time cannabis consumer that was eager to get into the cannabis industry when legalization became a possibility.
In addition to his cannabis business, Castelo is a writer, director, and producer behind several films, including The Preppie Connection, the Indie Spirit Award-nominated The War Within, and Death Metal Angola.
Above the dispensary, he operates a rooftop atrium and lounge overlooking the Hudson River, along with the Antique Bar & Bakery, the Antique Loft, and Sweven, a members-only co-working space.
Castelo resides in the city with his wife and writing partner, Ashley, and their two daughters, while he met the other Terrapin Care Station owners at a cannabis networking event several years ago.
“The city that had the biggest impact on me is … Amsterdam. You can go into a building in Amsterdam and like it has everything you suddenly didn’t realize you needed. From art to music to film to food. Sort of the whole experience. Community interconnected, bringing people together, that’s what we do here,” he noted.
Opening the Station as the first Hoboken dispensary took a great deal of time.
The local Cannabis Review Board approved them in July 2022. They were eager to secure approval for adult use sales and first applied that May.
Before that, the Station fought Harmony Dispensary in court about abiding by local laws. Harmony dispensary tried to open nearby in Hoboken before things fell apart and their local approval was revoked.
Terrapin failed to secure a license in the 2018 medical cannabis round. They ultimately won a license in the 29-month 2019-2021 medical cannabis license round. At the time, they called themselves Hispanic-owned.
The Hoboken cannabis dispensary process became very contentious, with the MSO Story dispensary enraging some neighbors, and while a settlement has been reached there, other dispensaries, such as Blue Violets, are still tied up in court.