New Gloucester Twp. Dispensary Keeps Patients At Forefront

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The founders of HoneyGrove, a medical dispensary in Gloucester Township, entered the cannabis industry for a variety of reasons. David Del Vecchio — a physical therapist and one of HoneyGrove's owners — felt a dispensary could help meet community members' health needs.

"I saw a lot of people go down the route of opioids and painkillers," Del Vecchio told Patch. " ... I got into the cannabis world because of that originally."

HoneyGrove, which opened Aug. 9, will celebrate its grand opening this Friday. (See event info below.)

While larger corporations own many of New Jersey's dispensaries, HoneyGrove is independently run. The ownership includes David, Valerie Del Vecchio (majority owner), and Derek and Cara Damiano.

They originally applied around 2018 to open the business, when New Jersey only allowed cannabis for certain medical uses. David Del Vecchio felt connected to the Gloucester Township area through physical therapy, which he's performed in Sicklerville for the last decade. David wanted a sense of locality to carry over into the dispensary.

"You're not standing in line at the DMV. You're not standing in line at Curaleaf for a while to just get in and get yourself some weed," said David Del Vecchio, referencing the New York City-based corporation that owns several New Jersey dispensaries. "We want to have that personal experience where we can get you the right product that fits you, so every product is right for the individual or what they're trying to achieve."

HoneyGrove currently only serves medical patients. But that could change, since the business recently applied to expand into the recreational — or "adult-use" — market.

It's uncertain when that expansion may occur, but David Del Vecchio hopes HoneyGrove can expand into recreational weed in the near future.

"Originally, our plan was medicinal-only," he said "Now being in business — the market and the way it is — it makes sense for us to expand into adult use. But even though we're expanding to adult use, we do want to have a priority experience for the medical patient."

HoneyGrove is located at 1337 Blackwood Clementon Road, Clementon. Check out HoneyGrove's website.

Grand Opening

The grand-opening celebration will feature free food and merchandise. HoneyGrove will also offer special one-time discounts, plus deals for new patients.

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday. Visit the Facebook event page.