Inside former Boston Councilor Tito Jackson’s long-awaited multi-floor downtown dispensary
Not to say that there have not been several spectacular grand openings in the Mass cannabis world, but anything that comes from here on out will be measured up against the celebration held by Apex Noire on State Street, close enough to Faneuil Hall that you could follow cobblestones and copper plaques around the block to Quincy Market.
Saturday’s ribbon-cutting and party took over three blocks, and it’s no surprise considering that Apex is helmed by former Roxbury City Councilor and 2017 Boston mayoral candidate Tito Jackson. During his time in politics as well as in the years since, while gathering financial and community support to build his epic dispensary, he’s been a man about town, turning up everywhere from summer BBQs to major concerts. This weekend, as he thanked people in the crowd from a stage overlooking the old Custom House, friends and colleagues who came to see the product of Jackson’s long-developing vision waved back proudly.
And what a vision it is—there may be another multi-level dispensary like Apex Noire in some other state and city, but I have been to hundreds and today was the first time that I have ever found myself riding an elevator between retail floors. Upon entry on the ground level, you are immediately close to one bank of registers and a nook full of product displays. From there, you can walk up to a second floor that has another counter plus a small table where you can ponder your upcoming purchase.
It’s worth noting that both the checkout areas are basically set up like bars, complete with coat hooks and a foot rail. You can’t order food or drinks or cannabis to burn or eat on site just yet, but from the flow of this place it is clear that Jackson’s looking to a future with social consumption of some kind. His company’s already building out a restaurant on one of the top floors above their corporate offices, while during Saturday’s festivities Apex already opened up their private VIP lounge on the enclosed seventh-floor roof deck.
Now that they’ve been selling for a few weeks and have their official opening out of the way, we will check in with Jackson and his team on State Street soon for a full sit-down interview about their unique floorplan as well as their plans for the space moving forward. In the meantime, from the looks of the line running up the block toward the Old State House on Saturday, they’ll be selling a whole lot of weed, and for those who couldn’t make it out in person, here’s some video in addition to our photos from the big event.
