PREMO IN KEYPORT OPENs BLACK-OWNED DISPENSARy
Premo Cannabis Company Opens 1st Black Central Jersey Dispensary in Keyport
The Black and locally owned Premo Cannabis Company held its grand opening of the first adult-use cannabis dispensary in Keyport in Monmouth County in Central Jersey.
They are an underground legacy to legal company. Creating a path for underground legacy operators to go legit has been a significant issue in the New Jersey cannabis market for years.
“It’s amazing,” President/Chief Operating Officer and co-founder Darrin Chandler Jr. said about the opening. He reached the goal line after trying to get into the legal New Jersey cannabis market since about 2019.
Inside was a festive atmosphere with rap music playing as budtenders checked out customers.
Premo Cannabis Company had a vibrant atmosphere. The large old bank had artistic, historic features complemented by a modern mural.
Many Brands for Sale
Premo Cannabis Company featured the new cannabis cultivator Clade 9, a small corporate Multi-State Operator (MSO) from California, along with the newer local independent cultivator Garden Greens.
“We always want to differentiate ourselves so we’re staying on top of the independent cultivators coming online,” Darrin explained.
That day, there were many licensed brands with representatives present, including ones for the small MSO manufacturer Fernway, the large MSO Ascend, and the large MSO Curaleaf, along with Vibes rolling papers.
They also featured companies that made deals with large MSOs to get to market, like local Black entrepreneurs: The Mudd Brothers, the women-owned small MSOs Gron and Miss Grass, and 1906, which is a small MSO based in Colorado owned by a Jersey native.
The MuddBrothers Corner Located at Premo Keyport Dispensary.
About the Brand: Mudd Brothers is more than a brand, it’s a mindset. Built from the ground up, rooted in the community, and producing some of the finest cannabis products in the country – the Mudd Brothers movement is based on our founders’ principles: remain loyal, stay authentic and get it STRAIGHT OUT THE MUDD.
Underground Legacy to Legal Progress
Premo Cannabis Company was founded by two father-and-son teams, the Chandlers and the Blanks.
Donald Blanks is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer and his son is Co-Founder and Vice President Skye Blanks.
Darrin Chandler Sr. is also a co-founder.
Darrin Jr. said his dad is an underground legacy to legal success story.
“My family is Social Equity. My father is a survivor of the War on Drugs. So is Donny. We have people who didn’t make it in jail or died,” he explained.
“For us, we thought that Black and Brown people were the biggest losers of the criminalization of cannabis. So we should be the biggest winners. This is bigger than business for us. It’s a turning point in our family,” Darrin Jr. added.
Family Business
Darrin Jr. said Darrin Sr. and Donald are old friends from the Bronx. Donald and Darrin Sr. worked in the music industry together. Darrin Sr. was General Manager of Rock-a-Fella Records, owned by Jay Z and his former partner Damon Dash, a cousin of Darrin Sr.
“He’d be like my uncle,” Darrin Jr. said. “I met Kanye West before he was famous.”
Darrin Jr. is from Hackensack in Bergen County and now lives nearby in Teaneck.
More on Premo’s Grand Opening Here