Cannabis Dispensary Sofa Club to Open on the Upper West Side

Another cannabis dispensary is coming to Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Sofa Club, a licensed cannabis shop, has signed a 10-year lease for 1,200 square feet at Beach Lane Management’s 2193 Broadway, also known as 250 West 78th Street, Commercial Observer has learned. Asking rent was $265 per square foot.

Sofa Club’s new spot between West 77th and West 78th streets, next door to Apthorp Pharmacy, will be its second New York City location, following its debut last fall in the East Village at 229 Avenue B, according to its website.

“The Upper West Side offers the kind of density, purchasing power and steady foot traffic that make it an ideal market for Sofa Club’s next chapter,” Meridian Retail Leasing’s Stephen Ligambi, who brokered the deal for both the tenant and landlord, said in a statement. “Securing a premium cannabis retailer at a rent this strong is a sign of how far the category has evolved.

“Sophisticated operators are no longer settling for secondary corridors — they’re targeting proven high-street locations, and landlords are responding when the branding, operations and compliance are best-in-class,” Ligambi added. “We’re seeing the industry move away from the dimly lit smoke shop model and toward high-end, tech-like retail environments that prioritize design, transparency and customer experience.”

A spokesperson for Sofa Club did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while a spokesperson for the landlord could not be reached for comment.

Sofa Club, which bills itself as “the first legal dispensary in the East Village,” will recruit its in-house design team to oversee the buildout of its new Upper West Side location and bring its “Apple store”-like aesthetic to the spot, according to Meridian.

The cannabis dispensary will join several other retail tenants on the surrounding Upper West Side blocks, including Chopt, Equinox, SoulCycle, Bluestone Lane and CVS.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.