A post on social revealed that the now-closed Hashstoria dispensary of Newark was sued and evicted from its property by their landlord in court.
Dispensary Guy Mike Wiehl first reported it and posted it on social media after he said former employees reached out to him.
It seems they owed hundreds of thousands of dollars for their place at 799 Broad St. Hashstoria NJ LLC was sued by their landlord BMHC LLC.
On May 2nd, BMHC had sued them over the lack of payment in NJ Superior Court. According to the lawsuit, they owed $540,501.84 on the place.
On June 25th, Judge Benjamin Avion ruled in favor of BMHC and demanded that Hashstoria vacate the premises by July 1st.
To make matters worse, an employee non social media posted that she worked there briefly after they opened in November 2024 and left in January. She said there were clear red flags, citing mismanagement, a toxic workplace, and a lack of transparency among others.
So, this is not as surprising as it would initially seem.
Among the noted owners were the famous rapper Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan and noted radio/podcast host Charlamagne tha God, among others. They did not acknowledge its closure on social media.
Stiffed Vendors
Many have speculated that their vendors were stiffed on payments for products.
Canna Boss Lady Jill Cohen launched a line of pre-rolls, working with North Lake Supply. She confirmed to Heady NJ they owed them half the money for 2 cases of products.
Julian Langley of the new Hamsa gummies manufacturer said they were stiffed too.
“We don’t even know if we can get our product back,” he told Heady NJ.
Newark Cannabis Issues
Hashstoria was probably subjected a Green Tax. It was likely rented for far more than it was worth because the owners knew that the Green Zone of Newark, where cannabis dispensaries were permitted, was small. They were also probably charged extra for many things.
It seemed they definitely spent too much money to open. The lack of a consumption lounge and the slowness of the overall process certainly were not anticipated and did not help.
Hashstoria’s progress towards opening and the difficulties with the city’s red tape were well-chronicled by other media outlets.
A source told Heady NJ that a nearby intoxicating hemp smoke shop had the same landlord and was doing far more business.
Sme might be happy that out-of-town celebrities failed. But Max Maxemous of Urb’n dispensary of Newark and many others were eager to welcome them to Jersey and see what came next.
Many industry figures are taking it as a bad sign for the overall market. However, dispensaries are still opening across Jersey, and Heady NJ is still seeing new products for sale.
