“You should invest in what you know, and I’ve been getting stoned since eighth grade, pretty much every day,” Joanne Wilson, seasoned angel investor, philanthropist and owner of the new part-dispensary-part-concept-store-part-wellness-brand Gotham, tells me as she recounts the trajectory that led to her opening the spot earlier this month. I spent an afternoon at the downtown NYC store this week to speak with Joanne and Chief Creative Officer Billy Richards to hear about how they opened Gotham and what’s to come.
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Image credit: Gotham
Entering Gotham
When you step into Gotham, the entry process feels like checking into a luxury hotel, before you step into a sun-lit open space filled with vibrant, beautiful things. From home goods to smoking accessories, and finally, an actual dispensary, the store orbits around a beautiful centerpiece: a pseudo-tree concocted by artist Molly Lowe, based on the oldest tree in Manhattan—an elm tree that resides in the Northwestern corner of Washington Square Park.
Image credit: Gotham
“We’re talking about touchpoints of music, fashion, art. Some of the stuff is cannabis adjacent—’canna-adjacent’ is our word,” Billy tells me, adding with a smile: “Some of it’s just, you know, cool shit.”
“It’s our goal is