It’s a joint effort.
Recreational marijuana may now be the norm in New York and licensed dispensaries are finally cropping up all over town, but New Yorkers are finding themselves nostalgic for one aspect of the pre-legalization era — their weed guy.
Brooklynite Adrian H. is one of those avid cannabis users — and he told The Post there are times he’s left feeling uncertain about the cultural shift.
“Going into dispensaries in New York, it feels very corporate and I feel like I’m at a clinic, like a hospital sometimes,” said the 24-year-old, who confessed to romanticizing the relationship with his old supplier, who he said he used to see “as much as my parents.”
That nostalgia is what a budding crop of new cannabis delivery companies such as Doobie and DeliveryBudz are hoping to tap into. They’re once again bringing the product right to your door — except this time, it’s all legal, using state-authorized sources.
“I was the weed guy back then, and I’m the weed guy now,” Aaron Sepulveda, a delivery guy and dispatcher for Doobie, told The Post.
And Sepulveda notices the regulars, just like old times. Having been a driver “since the doors opened” at Doobie, he knows about 60% of their regular customers by name.
That familiarity made Adrian, who lives in East Williamsburg, ecstatic since it reminded him of back in the day.
Before, he said, “You had someone come over and they’d unload a box and show everything. It was super convenient, well-priced and very good service,” he remembered.
“But being able to do it through legal dispensaries and getting nearly the same experience is really nice,” he enthused of his experience with DeliveryBudz.
That experience is something Joseph Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Doobie, has tried to create, he told The Post.
“[The customer] might be nostalgic and still want that relationship with the weed guy… It’s that familiarity and the idea of: this is what the cadence is, this is how it happens, this is what the routine is — and people love that,” he shared.
Max Hakim, the founder of DeliveryBudz, said that for him, too, nostalgia was a major inspiration.
Growing up in Connecticut and later interning in the city during college, Hakim was always fascinated by the “delivery service ecosystem” that had Manhattan under a spell.
“Older friends and cousins living in the city had these delivery services bringing weed right to their apartment, sometimes someone would show up with a briefcase, and it was the coolest thing to me,” he shared. “I was kind of enamored by it.”
The relationship aspect is something the services hope to re-create.
“We try to create these little odds and ends that give it that sense of familiarity,” Rubin explained. For example, if a Doobie driver delivers to a customer who has a dog, they’ll offer a dog treat.
“It’s those little things that we still try and impart onto our drivers that we can pass along to the customer,” he continued. “We try to bring in those little bits that make people happy and put a smile on their faces. That’s really, really important to us.”
With Doobie, which is partnered with Manhattan-based dispensary the Travel Agency, they’ve seen many customers request the same customer service agent that they’ve had before, which helps recreate that “you’ve got a guy” experience.
People will call in and say, “This person knows what I like, I want to talk to them” or “I want this girl to make the recommendations to me,” Rubin said.
In some cases, the new companies are even employing the people New Yorkers say they miss.
Born and raised on the Lower East Side, Sepulveda, now 33, began his career in the neighborhood at the age of 15.
“Everybody was doing it,” he recalled.
“And then I found this, which gives the same experience as a street dealer, the only difference is we give you an option and you know what you’re buying and you are in full control of the order,” he explained.
“It’s the same feeling without the sketchiness of not knowing what you’re gonna get,” Sepulveda said. “We’re trying to keep it the same way so that you can get the same experience.”
Dante Reynolds, another delivery driver for Doobie, shared the sentiment, adding that his favorite part of the job is “delivering to the people and seeing their happy faces.”
In fact, Dante has two repeat customers who he now considers good friends — a relationship that developed from the trust between driver and customer.
“They know me, I know them,” he said.
Sepulveda added, “The customers trust us. They trust that if something goes wrong — which one out of 100 things go wrong — they know they can call us.”
“It’s not like a sketchy drug dealer,” he said. “They know it’s a safety net for them, you just know what you’re getting. It’s sealed, it’s safe, and we’re not pulling it out of our pants or a book bag.”
The customers agree — just like in the old days, they feel most comfortable with people they know.
“It’s nice having a face you can put it to it, it helps build that trust,” Adrian H. said. “It makes it feel more personalized.”
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