A Cannabis Museum Is Coming To SoHo, Courtesy Of A Vegas Nightclub Veteran

A former nightclub owner from Las Vegas has high hopes that New Yorkers will pay to learn about the history of and art inspired by cannabis.

Robert Frey, who previously owned two nightclubs in Vegas, has signed a 10-year lease for 30K SF in SoHo for a cannabis-focused experiential museum, The Real Deal reports. 

Visitors won’t be offered the chance to purchase or consume cannabis on-site, according to The Real Deal. Instead, the space, spanning three floors at the Chetrit Group-owned 427 Broadway, would reportedly be filled with exhibitions showcasing the plant’s history and its artistic influence.

The House of Cannabis, or THCNYC for short, is Frey’s first venture in the Big Apple and has financial backing from cannabis venture capital firm Merida Holding, TRD reported. 

“We wanted to combine a lot of topics under one roof and put it in an environment where people can really explore, educate themselves and understand what cannabis is about, and the impact on New York,” Frey told TRD.

Scent-maker Victorine Deych, cannabis photographer Chris Romaine and Mexican light designer Carlos Hano are expected to contribute exhibits to the space. Frey wants to stage exhibitions including LED light shows, sound technology, digital exhibits and events including a lecture series on the top floor when the space opens, which is planned for this fall.

“New Yorkers are true cannabis enthusiasts,” Frey told TRD. “We thought it’d be a great place to launch our museum exhibit. We want it to be kind of the beacon for people to learn about cannabis.”

Frey is the former owner of Vegas nightclub Pure and burlesque outfit the Pussycat Dolls Lounge, according to The Real Deal.

He has also previously worked in Nevada’s cannabis industry, where he and his brother Michael were part owners of a cannabis dispensary company Naturex. The pair sued Naturex’s co-owner, Verano, in 2019 and were granted $125M and 11 dispensary licenses, although Frey told TRD he is no longer involved in Nevada’s cannabis industry.

New York's legal cannabis industry is just getting started — the state is weeks away from opening the application portal for recreational-use dispensaries, and vendors are already lining up retail spaces in anticipation of a rush to open.