HoneyProjects’ third New Jersey dispensary arrives with craft cultivators, visionary art, an all-star DJ lineup and the first cannabis-company partnership in MAPS’ 40-year history.
New Jersey’s independent cannabis scene is pushing north.
On August 29, HoneyProjects will open HoneyGrove Elmwood Park at 294 Route 46 East, marking the company’s third dispensary in the state and its first in Bergen County. The new location joins the award-winning HoneyGrove Gloucester Township and HoneyStash, Metuchen’s first licensed dispensary, extending a homegrown portfolio at a moment when national chains are moving aggressively into New Jersey.
But HoneyGrove isn’t arriving quietly. The grand opening brings together craft flower, visionary art, collectible glass and performances by New York DJ royalty Tony Touch, Scram Jones and DJ Caesar. It also launches a first-of-its-kind collaboration between HoneyProjects and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)—the organization’s first partnership with a cannabis company in its 40-year history.
“We built HoneyProjects to raise the standard for what cannabis can be in New Jersey,” said Jeffrey Miller, Chief Executive Officer of HoneyProjects. “Elmwood Park gets the best of the region: craft-grown, honestly sourced, and chosen with intention. That’s the promise behind every door we open.”
Craft at the Crossroads
HoneyGrove Elmwood Park occupies a particularly kinetic slice of North Jersey, positioned at the intersection of Route 46 and the Garden State Parkway. Paterson and Clifton sit nearby, as do Paramus and the Meadowlands Sports Complex—home to stadium concerts, the Giants, the Jets and the 2026 FIFA World Cup Championship.
Inside, however, the emphasis shifts from traffic to intention.
The menu spotlights independent New Jersey cultivators selected for quality rather than sheer volume, alongside HoneyStash’s signature product line. Staff education is central to the experience: Budtenders are expected to understand what they sell, how it was grown, who produced it and what separates one selection from another.
The idea is to make shopping feel less like passing through a checkout line and more like entering a conversation with someone who actually knows the material.
That same attention extends to the store’s visual identity. Outside, one of New Jersey muralist Olga Muzician’s signature “Gratitude” works transforms the property. Inside, visionary artist Chris Dyer brings his psychedelic universe to the walls, while a curated glass collection features work created in partnership with Mothership, Toro, Sovereignty and Baby Gorilla Glass.
The result feels closer to a cultural clubhouse than a standardized retail box—an important distinction in a market where dispensaries can too easily begin to resemble one another.
Elmwood Park Mayor Robert Colletti also acknowledged the company’s physical investment in the site.
“We are especially appreciative of the effort HoneyGrove invested in cleaning up and improving their property, transforming the site into an attractive and welcoming addition to our community,” Colletti said.
HoneyProjects Meets MAPS
The opening also introduces a collaboration that reaches beyond the sales floor.
Founded in 1986, MAPS has spent four decades advancing psychedelic and marijuana research, education, harm reduction and drug-policy reform. Its partnership with HoneyProjects will include educational resources, community activations and optional charitable round-up donations at the point of sale, beginning at the Elmwood Park store.
The partnership arrives as MAPS celebrates its 40th anniversary and both organizations expand their work around evidence-based education, responsible access and the communities most affected by prohibition.
“We believe that healing and justice are inseparable, and this partnership reflects that belief. HoneyProjects shares our commitment to building a post-prohibition future defined by evidence-based education, community, and restorative justice,” said Betty Aldworth, Co-Executive Director of MAPS. “Together, we’re demonstrating that the work of expanding responsible access is bigger than any single organization and stronger when we build it together.”
For HoneyProjects, the collaboration establishes a direct connection between a neighborhood dispensary and a movement that has spent decades challenging the political and cultural assumptions surrounding controlled substances. It also gives customers a tangible way to support that work through everyday purchases.
Three Stores, One Independent Vision
HoneyProjects has expanded quickly. In roughly a year, the company has grown from its HoneyGrove flagship—named 2024 Dispensary of the Year by Cannademix—into a three-store operation, while HoneyStash celebrates its first anniversary in Metuchen.
That growth is significant, but the more interesting story may be what the company has refused to sacrifice along the way: regional cultivators, informed service, original art and stores built with enough personality to feel connected to their respective communities.
HoneyGrove Elmwood Park’s grand opening takes place Friday, August 29, from 9AM to 10PM at 294 Route 46 East in Elmwood Park. Tony Touch, Scram Jones and DJ Caesar will perform, with local food and beverages available throughout the day. MAPS will also be onsite. The celebration is sponsored by EV Family Farms and Jerzey Grown.
Three locations in, HoneyProjects isn’t trying to disappear into New Jersey’s retail landscape. It is making the case that independent operators can still grow without sanding away the qualities that made them worth visiting in the first place.
For more information, please visit: https://honey-projects.com
