About Legacy Dispensary
Legacy Dispensary is the brainchild of founder and CEO Matthew Robinson. What began as a legacy delivery service is now a fully-fledged storefront dispensary that is a household name from Buffalo to Montauk. Their success is rooted in the knowledge Matthew obtained while delivering in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As someone who served time for cannabis-related charges, he applied for a CAURD license as soon as the New York Office of Cannabis Management opened the application window. His dream of building a legal cannabis business came to fruition when his legal delivery service, Legacy Dispensers, opened for business on 4/20 of 2023.
Setting a Precedent
As the first licensed cannabis delivery service in New York State, Legacy Dispensers made headlines for delivering some of the first legal deliveries in Long Island and around Upstate New York. Matthew knew that local news coverage would help him reach a wide audience and spread the word about his business. During interviews, he directed people to his website to place orders knowing that an easy online ordering experience would result in repeat business.
Sales skyrocketed as a result, providing Legacy Dispensers with enough revenue to become profitable ahead of projections. As a delivery-only retailer, Matthew knew online orders were the most efficient way to fulfill, dispatch, and deliver orders at scale. However, the Office of Cannabis Management requires all delivery orders to be paid digitally before they can depart for the destination. This presented a challenge considering the limitations cannabis retailers face with payment processing, but Robinson had faced greater challenges before.
One unexpected challenge that Robinson noticed early on was that licensed cultivators were producing an oversupply of cannabis inventory. Due to the low number of retailers being licensed and operational, growers were taking losses on products that would expire. The OCM eventually enacted the Cannabis Growers Showcase initiative to alleviate some of the oversupply and provide an avenue for brands to meet face-to-face with consumers. However, a retail licensee must be present at the showcases to process transactions, and that is where Robinson saw a perfect opportunity to raise brand awareness.
Engaging the Community
Legacy Dispensers was quick to step in as the retailer of record for several of the Cannabis Growers Showcases around Upstate New York. This was a new selling format for them and a great way to gain brand recognition with local communities and assist cultivators/processors with unloading some of their inventory that might otherwise go to waste. Hosting the Cannabis Grower Showcases also fostered relationships with New York cannabis brands and allowed Legacy Dispensers to develop long-lasting relationships.
Several of the CGS events ran simultaneously, but Legacy Dispensers dispatched staff members to Hudson Valley, New Paltz, Copake, Granville, and Kingston armed with the BLAZE Retail® POS system. This empowered them to transition seamlessly to in-person sales just as easily and gave them valuable face time with cannabis consumers around New York State.
Scaling to a Storefront
From humble beginnings, Matthew’s ambition, determination, and business savvy led him to stay true to his roots by starting as a delivery-only retailer. This was pivotal in keeping overhead costs low in the beginning so the business could grow organically. His preeminent knowledge of running a delivery service business model allowed him to scale strategically. Serving as the retailer of record for the Cannabis Grower Showcase events helped grow brand recognition in the state, and delivery service sales continued to soar.
Another milestone that helped propel Legacy Dispensers was creating a mobile e-commerce application that customers could download on their smartphones. This made it even easier for customers to browse the menu, place an order, and track the status of their delivery. Legacy Dispensers experienced steady growth and turned profitable ahead of schedule. With all the pieces in place, Matthew Robinson was confident he could make the transition to a storefront dispensary without sacrificing the quality of service or his bottom line.
The Grand Opening
On February 2nd, 2024, Matthew Robinson’s dream of opening a brick-and-mortar dispensary came true. The newly rebranded storefront, Legacy Dispensary, opened its doors in Colonie, New York to resounding support from local community members and faithful customers. This new selling environment offers new opportunities to interface with customers, showcase popular products, and increase order volume.
The Grand Opening of Legacy Dispensary marks a new chapter in the evolution of their brand. It was great to see so many customers, vendors, and community leaders show up to support the launch of the new storefront. It was a celebration of all the hard work and dedication that led to this moment, and BLAZE was proud to be a part of it.
Customer satisfaction continues to be a top priority for Legacy Dispensary and BLAZE offers unmatched flexibility to elevate the shopping experience. The store layout is thoughtfully designed to include several self-service kiosks, pickup windows, and multiple POS registers to facilitate every type of checkout, helping with high-volume sales and reducing wait times.
The BLAZE Account Care Team took the time to understand Matthew’s vision for his dispensary, configuring BLAZE Retail® and BLAZE ECOM™ to facilitate in-store sales as well as express pickup on the Legacy Dispensary website.
Why Legacy Dispensary Chose BLAZE®
When Matthew Robinson approached BLAZE, he was looking for a technology partner who was well-versed in cannabis delivery operations. When he learned that the very first use case of BLAZE was designed specifically for cannabis delivery, he was excited to see it in action.
It had everything he was looking for and more: a delivery driver app, GPS tracking for drivers, order auto-assignment, a compliant delivery ledger, digital signatures for proof of delivery, and an Onfleet integration for advanced route optimization. These features were essential to manage the logistics of a delivery service but when he learned that the BLAZE software suite could also provide e-commerce for online ordering, he knew he found the right tech partner.
The BLAZE Onboarding and Account Care Team worked closely with Matthew and the Legacy Dispensers team to configure the POS system for his delivery method and parameters. All staff were trained on how to use the software for their specific role, as well as best practices for inventory management, discounts, and delivery order dispatching.
The next priority was building a native e-commerce menu for the Legacy Dispensers website to process online orders and drive organic traffic. One of the must-have features was the ability for online shoppers to prepay before the order was delivered. The New York Office of Cannabis Management mandates that all online orders must be prepaid to be compliant. Fortunately, BLAZE ECOM™ and BLAZEPAY® ACH are seamlessly integrated, making it simple for first-time customers to link their bank account and pay online. Returning customers enjoy an even faster checkout experience by selecting their default bank account and paying in 2-clicks.
Their website offered an elevated shopping experience but Matthew wanted to take it one step further with a dispensary mobile app. BLAZE helped launch the Legacy Dispensers mobile app to make it even easier for customers to place an order, pay online, and track the status of their delivery. Between their e-commerce website and mobile application, Legacy Dispensers were increasing their order volume, acquiring new customers, and retaining existing customers.
Legacy Dispensary bought into the BLAZE software suite and as a result, they were able to become a well-oiled delivery service, a customer-facing retailer at the Cannabis Growers Showcase, and now a premier brick-and-mortar dispensary in Colonie, New York.
The Proof is in the Pudding
Legacy Dispensary has achieved success by earning the trust and respect of its customers. Matthew Robinson leads an ambitious team of service-oriented cannabis enthusiasts who believe in the brand and connect with customers. The numbers below reflect their hard work and successful implementation of the BLAZE cannabis software suite. Continue to follow their success story on instagram at @Legacy_Dispensary and check out their website to shop and learn more.
Average Online
Order Value
$239
Percentage of Orders Placed Online
66%
Number of Mobile App Downloads
400+
See BLAZE® in Action
BLAZE has become one of the most trusted tech providers for New York cannabis retailers. Our service and onboarding teams have been a difference-maker for operators who want to open faster and train staff quickly. Our suite of software has made it simple for licensees to get started with the complete package: POS, e-commerce, and cashless payments. To see a free demo of our software, schedule a meeting at the link below and our team will reach out to you soon.
