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New Kid on the Block: Alto on Chambers
The neighborhood’s first legal cannabis dispensary has opened on Chambers: Alto (I was slow on the uptake but of course it means “high’ in Italian) is among the 190+ dispensaries now open in the state and about the 35th in Manhattan. They opened on August 31 and will host an official grand opening on Oct. 10.
The state gave priority to both people with convictions from past marijuana crimes and women and minorities with business experience, and the family behind Alto checked both those boxes. The Savo Group that holds the license includes Guido and Sandra Savocchi, who raised their five kids in Queens, and those now-grown children: Stephanie, Nicole, Daniela, Sarah and finally Andre, the baby at age 30.
Guido was convicted of possession in the late ’90s, and the event threw the family into a tailspin. He lost the deli he owned in Queens and then wasn’t able to find work. “You don’t have too many options after that,” Andre noted. So the family toggled and Sandra went to work and Guide stayed home as the full-time dad.
Fast forward to 2014, when Andre is on probation for selling (the charges in that case were eventually dismissed). He and his mother head out to San Diego when the city announces they are going recreational, but since the pair has no ties in California, it becomes too tough to pull it off. So then when Sandra heard on 1010 WINS that women-owned businesses and people with marijuana convictions would have priority for licenses, she organized the family to apply.
“We literally won the lottery,” Stephanie said.
Andre is full time at Alto, but everyone else in the family is keeping their day jobs — for now. Sandra is an office manager for a construction company in Queens; Stephanie works in business development for a national hair care company; Nicole works in veterinary medicine on Long Island; the other sisters are also in sales (I met three out of five in the store the other day).
“We are very close and we really enjoy working together,” Stephanie said. “We always wanted to start a family business. And we all know customer service.”
Armon Mozaffari
I am not a cannabis consumer, so I will leave it to comments to tell me how the product looks (and feels). But the plan is to make it an upscale shopping experience with high-quality “flower,” the vernacular these days (not bud or pot or weed). Hence the speakeasy flower shop false front. There’s a guard at the door and absolutely no marketing in the windows — just a small description on the overheard sign and a QR code on the door that takes you to the state’s cannabis dispensary verification page.
They sell pens, gummies, drinks, tinctures, edible sugars that you can cook with — they sold out of pre-rolled joints in the first five days of opening. And it’s not easy to get supplies. The state requires that dispensaries source from in-state manufacturers, and Andre says those producers are having trouble keeping up with demand.
“We are fully stocked now and we get new stuff every day, but the variety is not really there and there is also short supply,” he said. New York has partnered with some big California manufacturers to train folks here, so they can carry some of those brands. Selling out on the joints was a surprise, but it’s helped them understand demand in the area.
Since cannabis is still not legal on a federal level, national banks will not allow credit card sales at dispensaries. So the business takes cash (there’s an ATM inside) and debit cards, where the sale rounds up to the closest $5 and there’s an additional 3.5 percent service fee. No surprise: So far sales have been split 60/40 in favor of cashless.
Andre scouted locations around the city — he lives in Hell’s Kitchen — and looked at dozens, but wanted to be Downtown. The Patriot, they said, was a mess — “it’s like they were coming back the next day and just never did,” Nicole said — but it’s cleaned up ok (the upstairs is just for employees).
As a start-up, it saves on staffing costs to have all the sibs helping out — it truly is family owned and operated. (Everyone in there except the security guard is family, so when you stop by, likely you are talking to a sib.) The hope is the business could eventually support the six families.
“We are not going to be the next Rockefellers but we can probably do well,” Andre said. “We’re definitely going to try.”
Alto on Chambers
110 Chambers | Church & West Broadway
info@altocanna.nyc
Monday to Thursday 9a to 9p
Friday and Saturday, 9a to 11p
Sunday, 9 to 5
18 Comments
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Enough with the cannabis — legal or otherwise.
The entire city smells like skunks already.
I’m so happy they opened in Tribeca! Great place !
Customer service was amazing! Was able to find exactly what I was looking for with the help of the staff.
Wishing them success!
A licensed dispensary that pays taxes, creates jobs, provides security, ID checks ALL patrons at the door whilst offering NYS lab tested products is a welcome addition in the wake of the illegal shop closures that did none of these things
People complaining about the smell forget that we have 10x the amount of people (locals and tourists alike) smoking cigarettes and stumbling around outdoor dining sheds after a few too many alcoholic drinks.
There is always a double standard when it comes to cannabis users – embrace progress and change, and if it bothers you, move someplace else or distance yourself. We don’t all have the same vices – some people don’t drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes, both of which are far more lethal than cannabis ever was or will be.
“if it bothers you, move someplace else”
Up yours, Richard! I’ve lived here in New York City for 57 years, thus have every goddamn right to express my opinion about this particular change (it sure as shit isn’t “progress”). The proliferation of cannabis dispensaries — both legal and illegal — has not at all been commensurate with the demand for the product in question. Rather, it’s been a PLAGUE.
Nice language – really hammers home your point
Alex’s argument – it smells
Disagree with him? Curse words, insults, and rage
Does anybody moderate this site anymore?
I didn’t forget about cigarettes and excessive alcohol consumption. These are also problems.
So great to see a legal option in the neighborhood. All the staff / family are really nice.
Drugs ruin lives. Sorry, but true.
Blanket statement much? Cannabis is very different from other drugs. I know many people who use it frequently and have stable lives. Heroin and other drugs are way worse. Also you can say ‘alcohol ruins lives’ and ‘abusive parents ruin lives’ and ‘air pollution ruins lives’. Many things can ruin lives if not properly controlled and dealt with. It sounds like you have personal experience with a person using drugs to ruin their (and other?) lives. Sorry to hear that. That’s humanity sometimes. But perspective is important and empty statements like yours just make people dismiss you.
The space is gorgeous, the family is lovely, and their warmth and service are fab. They have already ordered products I use so I don’t have to go above Canal St. And they’re dog friendly – Juniper loves it there. I am soooo happy!
They’re doing everything right, trying to maintain a proper sense of decorum and a warm, genial atmosphere. I feel they deserve a welcome to this neighborhood.
I’m not a doctor. I don’t drink and I don’t smoke.
But I read a lot and I educate myself. Cannabis, cigarettes, alcohol, pollution, mold. They all affect The body and brain cells. They actually kill them and cause brain atrophy among other things. So to say one is healthier than the other is wron imo.
Personally I don’t see the difference between a liquor store opening up, a bar serving alcohol, or a cannabis store in terms of hurting people or the environment. Cannabis is legal in New York City. It’s legal in New York State so the fact that cannabis stores open up shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody, but at least the products are somewhat regulated. Like i said I’m not a smoker, but I am a believer in second chances and I’d rather have a dispensary that’s legit open up on Chambers Street over one that isn’t.
I really urge people that readily embrace/accept liquor stores to step back and figure out why its ok for alcohol and not for cannabis. Just because alcohol is part of our culture, doesn’t make it great.
Both alcohol and cannabis can be problematic for health, or if used while driving or doing other activities where the effects of these substances can be dangerous.
However, one difference that matters (to me at least, and presumably to some others), is that alcohol is a drink, so it does not create clouds of noxious and perhaps psychoactive smoke that affects those who do not want to partake in it. I’d be much happier about the weed usage if it were:
– restricted in use to certain areas (e.g. away from entrances and windows of apartment buildings, homes, workplaces, public buildings and spaces) so that those of us who do not want to inhale the smoke are not forced to do so.
– restricted in use while driving etc. if it is known to cause impairment in such activities.
It is one thing to legalize and enable purchase of pot.
But it is another thing for government and media to spend massive time and resources to glamorize it, promote it and encourage it. And that seems to be what is happening.
I just want to say, going to alto & feeling very welcome is so amazing. Just walking inside the store & being greeted like Family helps a lot as well & just being assisted from the associates to help me find the products I need.