Since getting Fat Nugs Magazine print copies into The Daily Green dispensary in Times Square, I’ve wanted to explore not only the iconic area and see the enormous glowing green sign in person but also talk to the people making things happen inside. I haven’t been able to get to the location just yet, but I was lucky enough to share some time and a conversation with their Director of Ops and Marketing.
But before we get into any of that, I have to admit something that might get my East Coast card fully revoked. I just turned 50, and I have never been to New York City. Not once, not even for a late-night detour or a quick weekend stop for a show. At my age, considering I have family in Brooklyn, along with the work I do and the culture I cover, that probably deserves a fine or at least some kind of public shaming. I’ve lived within reach of the city for more than forty years, yet Times Square has always been something I only watched from a distance.
A Dispensary in the Heart of NYC
When I was younger, playing music and dreaming big, I always imagined hitting New York. I wanted to feel the energy and step into the city like it was part of my rite of passage. But even though that never happened, the secondhand views through movies, TV shows, videos, and social posts plainly illustrate that Times Square can hit you like a wall of electronic noise – with neon blasting its way through the city, and the buildings made of metal and glass reflecting it everywhere. Add in taxi drivers shouting, honking horns, and billboards swallowing the skyline, and it’s basically the world’s stage, and a living announcement of what’s coming next.
Sitting right in the center of all that chaos, at 719 7th Avenue, is a cannabis dispensary that feels like it was always meant to be there. The Daily Green is not just another shop in the retail mix. It’s THE statement piece of our industry. A loud reminder that cannabis is part of the next era of industry, and that it belongs to the people and communities who actually give a damn.
At the center of it all is a guy who’s lived enough cannabis lifetimes to power an entire operation on his shoulders if he had to. His name is Chris Thompson, and after talking with him, it’s clear that New York didn’t just get someone capable; they got someone who understands the plant, the people, and the responsibility that comes with sitting in the middle of the most visible cannabis intersection on Earth.
Chris is the Director of Operations and Marketing for The Daily Green, and he’s one of those industry professionals whose presence feels equal parts engineer, storyteller, and community builder. I sat down with Chris and got to pick his brain a bit back in mid-November, and what I quickly learned is that New York and The Daily Green got lucky.
The Making of A Multi-State Operator With A Soul
Chris has spent more than a decade in the cannabis trenches. Not the polished, “we’re going public this quarter” trenches, the real ones. The seed-to-sale, facility floor, spreadsheets, systems, and SOP grind. The “how do we solve this without shutting down production for three days” kind of work. He’s built operations across Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Nevada, and Ohio. He’s engineered processes, grown teams, opened retail shops, supported extraction programs, guided brand development, and solved the kind of problems someone with both a Purdue engineering degree and a background in cannabis activism would ever try to solve in one lifetime.
Chris understands cannabis from root to rooftop, and that’s what makes him dangerous in the best way possible. But there’s calmness to him. He’s super chill, grounded, aware, and understands what it takes to be successful. And when he talks about cannabis and Times Square, he lights up and sounds like someone who remembers the first moment the plant changed him.
A Love Letter to New York Culture
The Daily Green is owned by 2 Forest Park Lane LLC and powered by Brand Strategist Maggie Connors, alongside the operational vision of Chris Thompson. With Maggie Connors’ experience in the industry, having founded and led multiple high-profile brands such as Besito, the Ascend Wellness Holdings’ portfolio, and Garden Society over the last decade, together with Chris, they’ve built a retail experience that absolutely belongs in Times Square.
The exterior is loud in the way art is loud. Bright green façade with a massive digital sign and news-like tickers wrapping around the building like a cannabis-flavored Wall Street update. It has that vintage metropolis newspaper aesthetic, with a clever take on the “Daily Planet” energy, but twisted into something modern, playful, and absolutely New York.
Inside, the vibe changes again: warm woods, clean lines, curated displays, and budtenders who talk like educators rather than cashiers. Through our conversation, I can tell that the team has built a pulse into the place, with a welcoming vibe that makes first-time shoppers feel like they’re in a familiar part of the city. Chris told me outright that they want people to “walk blocks past multiple other dispensaries just to get to The Daily Green.” And honestly, I think they will, especially if the product selection is on-point and the sale becomes a conversation, teaching experience, or a moment that makes someone’s day a little better. The Daily Green team talks about customers like a chef talks about guests at their table. They want them to leave full.
When I asked Chris directly if he thinks The Daily Green has the potential to become the most iconic dispensary in the world. He didn’t even hesitate. He said yes, and not because of arrogance, but because of responsibility. He wants the world to look at cannabis differently, tourists to walk in and learn something, New Yorkers to feel seen, and patients to know they’re not an afterthought.
New York’s New Mayor & New Era for Cannabis
Chris and I also talked about something I didn’t expect to bring up – the new Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who has openly stated that he consumes cannabis and has personally walked into dispensaries to buy flower. That level of honesty is unheard of in politics. Chris knew it too, and he smiled when he talked about it. Imagine running a dispensary in the world’s most visited intersection…and knowing your city’s leadership actually supports you, publicly and unapologetically.
I couldn’t resist dropping the idea of an event that could bring the mayor in and have Fat Nugs Magazine cover it. A shameless plug, no doubt, but hell, that’s part of the game. And Chris didn’t flinch. New York is on the brink of something enormous, and The Daily Green sits right at the epicenter.
The Future Looks Like Five Floors & 300,000 Eyeballs…A Day
This place is big. As in five floors big. As in multi-purpose-space-meets-activation-hub big. As in “we haven’t even begun to show the world what we can do with this building” big. Almost 300,000 people walk past the front door every single day. That’s almost the same number of citizens in the entire country of Iceland. Think about that for a second, and you’ll quickly realize that this is THE opportunity to spread cannabis to the masses we’ve always dreamed about. And not only nationally – Maggie mentioned The Daily Green sees about 20 different countries represented by customers each day, so the legal cannabis experience and knowledge is truly being spread globally.
As someone running an independent media company, it’s hard not to feel fired up knowing each Fat Nugs Magazine print edition will live inside this behemoth of a cultural landmark. It’s a massive opportunity to be a megaphone for the plant. And being able to build a relationship with someone like Chris, who has vision, heart, successful operational experience, and a real connection to the community, gives me hope not just for The Daily Green, but for New York’s cannabis scene overall. He’s the kind of dude in a leadership role who shows up for the plant, patients, staff, community, industry, and the city. He has just the right amount of calm and fire that can take a five-story Times Square monster and turn it into a beacon for what cannabis retail can be. New York City and The Daily Green are lucky to have him. Because if this is what the future of cannabis in Times Square looks like, then the future is unforgettable, and I’m grateful as hell that Fat Nugs Magazine gets to tell the story from the front row.
