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THE BLUEPRINT:
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Charlie Fox plans to open the Hamptons’ first state-licensed dispensary on Sept. 16.
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The dispensary lacks a required special use permit from Southampton.
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Founder Julia Levi argues state law overrides local municipal codes.
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Southampton warns it will take legal action if the store opens without local approval.
A new cannabis dispensary plans to open the first state-licensed dispensary in the Hamptons next week, but the Town of Southampton may snuff out those plans.
The new 1,000-square-foot boutique dispensary called Charlie Fox announced it will open at 471 County Road 39 in Southampton on Tuesday, Sept.16, though the business has yet to apply for or receive the town’s required special use permit.
Founded by public relations and branding veteran Julia Levi and restaurateur James Mallios, Charlie Fox made its debut in Manhattan’s Times Square in Dec. 2024, where the multi-level emporium opened to rave reviews. The New York Post dubbed Charlie Fox “the Bergdorf of weed,” and Elle Decor called it “the most luxurious cannabis shop of all time.”
After new owners took over the Times Square dispensary earlier this year, renaming it The Daily Green, Levi, who had already leased the Southampton location last fall, advanced plans to take the Charlie Fox concept out east.
“After the location changed hands and I received my own cannabis retail license, we chose to relocate the brand to the Hamptons,” Levi told LIBN. “I live and run businesses here, and Long Island’s emerging, farm-driven, wellness-focused cannabis scene fits Charlie Fox perfectly.”
However, while Levi says the dispensary received approval to open and operate from the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) last month, Southampton Deputy Town Attorney Kathleen Murray said that Charlie Fox hasn’t applied for the town-required special use permit to operate.
“While a licensee may have received permissions/approval from the state to operate, they still need local approvals to operate,” Murray said, adding that OCM requires licensees to sign an acknowledgement that they still must obtain any local approvals required prior to opening and operating. “If it opens without the town’s approval, the town will pursue all enforcement remedies available to it under the law.”
The Charlie Fox dispensary is also located in close proximity to the Tuckahoe School property, which would preclude it from opening, according to town regulations.
Murray said that about seven cannabis dispensaries have begun the process of applying for town approvals, with five formally applying to the town’s Planning Board for site plan and special exception approval. Of those five, four have received approval from the Planning Board, she said. None have yet opened.
One of those that has received conditional Planning Board approval is suing the town for “unlawfully blocking” the business from opening. The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court by Brown Budda New York LLC last month, claims the town has created arbitrary and capricious hoops to jump through to open its dispensary, which conflicts with state law.
The Brown Budda lawsuit cites the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act enacted in 2021 that while municipalities “may pass local laws and regulations governing the time, place and manner of the operation of licensed adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries and/or on-site consumption site, provided such law or regulation does not make the operation of such licensed retail dispensaries or on-site consumption sites unreasonably impracticable…”
While Brown Budda has yet to fulfill the town’s conditional demands to open, which its attorney says includes a $40,000 sidewalk, the owner of Charlie Fox maintains it doesn’t need a green light from Southampton to open.
When asked about the town’s cannabis dispensary requirements, Levi claims that state law preempts any municipal codes, and that when municipalities opted in to allow cannabis stores, they agreed to give up the right to approve licensees and understood that they could only prevent a store from opening in very narrow circumstances.
“When the state legislature passed legalization, it was specifically concerned that municipalities were too susceptible to corruption given the huge tax dollars at stake,” Levi said. “It is well established that the state legislature was worried that towns would ‘play favorites’ or worse, bully and force social licensees into economic concessions.”
Meanwhile, Levi and Mallios are moving ahead with their plans, partnering with Vema Construction and Home Studios on the Charlie Fox store build and design, which highlights “the allure of nautical charm through natural materials, vintage details, and seaside-inspired elements,” according to a company statement.
“Too many dispensaries felt intimidating or transactional,” Levi said. “We wanted to create a brand that felt personal and approachable and see that reflected that in the store design and customer experience…Sit back in our lounge area and chat about the offerings with oldies soul spinning in the background. I wanted Charlie Fox to not only appeal to my generation, but my 74-year-old dad and his friends too.”
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David Winzelberg
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