As a cannabis dispensary opening its doors in a new town, it’s important to be a good steward of the local community. Getting involved and meeting your neighbors is of the utmost priority, but it can be a challenge if you don’t already know the local culture and history. Fortunately for Queen City, Ariell Hunt, the store’s assistant general manager, is about as local to Plainfield as you can get.
“I’ve lived in Plainfield since I was five years old,” Hunt said. “Phoenix Preschool, which was located right here on South Avenue, was here for 25 years — my mom owned it and I pretty much grew up inside it.”
Not only was Phoenix Preschool located on South Avenue, but it’s the very site where Queen City now stands.
From education center to a dispensary
Watching her mother work in education and childcare inspired Hunt to follow in Mom’s footsteps. She obtained a degree in psychology from Bloomfield College. After graduating, Hunt worked as an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapist for children with autism before transferring to a new school district and becoming a preschool teacher like her mother. That’s when the opportunity to return to her roots first arose.
“My mom relocated to South Africa and needed someone she trusted to run things,” Hunt said. “She knew I’d been in education for eight years so I took over as director.”
Hunt ran the operation for three years until her mother decided to retire for good and sell the business. Phoenix Preschool would shut its doors only to be reborn like the mythic bird for which it was named, reemerging as Queen City.
New beginnings in a new industry
The sale of the preschool was bittersweet for Hunt. She was personally excited to see her hometown welcoming a legal cannabis dispensary, but she was left unsure of her own next steps.
“It kind of left me wondering ‘What am I going to do? Where am I going to go?’” Hunt said. “At this point in my life, it was the ideal time to switch gears altogether — I decided to hop into the cannabis industry myself.”
Hunt continued doing what she already knew by day, working as the director of an Apple Montessori preschool. At the same time, she enrolled in a month-long cannabis certification course at Union County College, which she attended in the evenings after work. Once certified and with some cannabis knowledge under her belt, Hunt hit the pavement in search of experience.
“I ended up at MPX [dispensary in Sicklerville], working there on the weekends,” Hunt said. “I loved being there and credit them a lot for giving me some phenomenal hands-on training.”
Hunt’s part-time foray into the legal cannabis industry lasted about seven months, at which point she received a call that would lead her back to the same building where she had grown up and served as a preschool director. Justin Singer and Sarah Stretchberry, two of the leaders on the Queen City team, heard that Hunt was working in the industry and they wanted her to join the team.
“When Justin and Sarah gave me a call and asked if I wanted to come on full-time, I was like, ‘my dream just came true!’” Hunt said. “I love education and that’s the aspect I want to bring here. You come to a dispensary for the experience and to learn new things you didn’t know about cannabis, and we’re in a community where that education is seriously needed.”
For Stretchberry, the chief retail advisor at Queen City, bringing Hunt on was a no-brainer.
“Even when we first bought the building, I remember the daycare was immaculate and adorable; you could see the love in that place and it was a result of Ariell,” Stretchberry said.
Upon learning Hunt had pursued a cannabis certification and began a career in the space, Stretchberry began considering Hunt for the role of assistant general manager and brought her in for an interview.
“From the moment we sat down and started talking, I was 100 percent sure she needed to be the AGM of this store,” Stretchberry said. “Ariell is a huge part of the Plainfield community and has lived here her entire life. We really want to be a good neighbor to everyone in the community, and she’s instrumental in helping us achieve that goal.”
Building a dispensary to serve the Queen City
Putting together the team was only the first step. To truly build a cannabis dispensary that represents Plainfield and proudly serves New Jersey takes a lot of work, especially for an independently owned and operated small business like Queen City.
“We are very much in the trenches every day,” Hunt said. “When you work at a multi-state operator (MSO), they staff for you, but we’re hand-picking our team here. We’re making sure everyone is on the same page of being community-based, and our team is awesome.”
As the first adult-use dispensary to open in Plainfield, Queen City is doing more than just selling cannabis — it’s introducing cannabis to much of the community. Hunt, Stretchberry, and team are building an operation geared toward meeting everyone in that community where they are, providing whatever level of education they need to make the right choices for them.
“We have dynamic personalities here and can cater to any type of customer that comes in to make sure they have a positive experience that’s up to their standard,” Hunt said. “For customers who want to come in and not talk to anyone, we have self-checkout kiosks they can use. For customers who want to ask questions and get recommendations, we have trained budtenders with cannabis experience.
“It’s a personal approach, and that’s what’s going to set us apart from other dispensaries,” Hunt said.
From hosting a Women’s History Month Clothing Drive to sponsoring community cleanups like Clean the Queen, Queen City is an active member of the community that has welcomed it. And with Hunt on the team, the store has true Plainfield roots to keep it grounded.
From hosting an information session for local older adults to ask questions about cannabis to attending the opening of a new park in town, Queen City is looking forward to being an active member of the community that has welcomed it. And with Hunt on the team, the store has true Plainfield roots to keep it grounded.
Queen City Dispensary is located at 1353 South Avenue in Plainfield. The dispensary is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Sunday. Stop in and see what makes Queen City Dispensary so special, from the friendly and helpful team members like Hunt to the wide selection of top-quality cannabis products.
