THE ROYAL BLEND STORY

DEDICATION TO QUALITY IN EVERY ASPECT

Delaurna and Sonia Murphy are the founders and sole owners of Royal Blend Dispensary LLC. They both immigrated to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica. The husband-and-wife team has made the US their home for almost 35 years. But it was in Jamaica where their entrepreneurial spirit first took root and gave them the confidence to come to America to pursue their dreams. For the Murphy’s, America is the place where the path to business opportunities and success is open to anyone with a vision and the willingness to work hard.

Before coming to America, as a young woman in Jamaica Sonia partnered with her mother, aunt and close friends in making and selling sheets, pillowcases, curtains and tablecloths, while simultaneously working as a Kindergarten school teacher. It was a successful family business, affording Sonia and her family the opportunity to be self-sufficient and self-reliant, while at the same time providing job opportunities to members of their community. It was at the family business that Sonia met Delaurna. He joined the team of bedwear and apparel makers as a seamster and salesman. In addition to this work, Delaurna also sang, danced, and performed dramatically with an internationally acclaimed Jamaican Folk Group and organized a community-based cultural group in Greenwich Town, Kingston, Jamaica, where he served as founder and senior artistic director. Sonia and Delaurna fell in love and had two children. They decided to move to the United States to pursue their dream of raising a family and building a successful business. They eventually moved to New York City, got married and gave birth to their third child.

As new arrivals to the United States, Sonia and Delaurna supported their young family by working menial jobs. Sonia worked as a domestic helper and Delaurna worked as an office assistant. They were also street vendors, selling clothing and accessory items and, on occasions, marijuana. It was during this period that Delaurna was arrested for illegally selling marijuana. After this early and unpleasant encounter with the law (during his arrest, Delaurna was beaten by the police), Delaurna obtained training to become a licensed polysomnographic Technologist (leve 3). With this training, Delaurna and Sonia created an umbrella corporation called Royal Blend Group of Services, Inc. and launched their first family-owned retail business, Royal Blend Perfume Oils & Accessories. They sold perfume, oils and other cosmetic accessories. A few years later, Royal Blend Foods was born. This retail restaurant sold Jamaican & Soul Food. Using their success as small business owners, and Delaurna’s prior arrest for marijuana, they applied for and obtained a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license from the Office of Cannabis Management to legally operate a cannabis dispensary. Their new company was named Royal Blend Dispensary LLC, further expanding the Royal Blend Group of Services brand.

Like most new CAURD license holder, Delaurna and Sonia experienced a great deal of difficulty acquiring the necessary financing and know-how needed to operate a highly regulated cannabis dispensary. They were constantly approached by predatory investors who demanded they turnover a significant percentage of ownership of their license in exchange for financing and management support. To get around the predators, Delaurna and Sonia decided to seek out support from law firms, management organizations and advocacy groups whose mission was consistent with restorative justice and social equity goals of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) – the marijuana law enacted in the State of New York. It was during this period that they teamed up with The Bronx Cannabis Hub, a division of the Bronx Defenders and the pro-bono division of the legal firm of Clair Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. These organizations provided access to training on operating a retail dispensary and legal advice on negotiating with potential investors. It was during one of the many training and networking meetings Clair and Gottlieb encourage CAURD members to attend that Sonia and Delaurna met Reginald Fluellen, Ph.D., a senior consultant for the state-wide advocacy group the Cannabis Social Equity Coalition – NYS. With Dr. Fluellen’s help, Delaurna and Sonia teamed up with Housing Works, the operator of the first legal dispensary in New York State. This partnership put Delaurna and Sonia firmly on track to opening a dispensary in Rosendale, New York, a Mid-Hudson Valley town situated between Kingston, New York and New Paltz, New York.

After listening to the complaints expressed by Delaurna and other CAURD license holders during a meeting sponsored by Cannabis NYC, a division of the New York City Department of Small Business Services, and impressed with Delaurna’s articulation of the main sources of the problems faced by CAURD license holders, Dr. Fluellen approached Delaurna and asked him if he would be interested in obtaining management support from a well-established not-for-profit organization recently given a CAURD license called Housing Works. He described Housing Works as having over 30 years of experience running retail establishments in New York City, like thrift shops and bookstores, and, for a similar period of time, providing housing, substance abuse and mental health services to the homeless, people suffering from HIV/AIDS and to formally incarcerated individuals. After some research, Delaurna and Sonia accepted Dr. Fluellen offer to partner with Housing Works.

Housing Works’ partnership with Delaurna and Sonia, coupled with the support Delaurna and Sonia continue to receive from The Bronx Cannabis Hub and Clair Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, provides them with ready access to a team of experts at every level of cannabis retailing, licensing, training and real estate development. At the retail level, they receive support from Andrew Greene, the Chief Operating Officer at Housing Works and master dispensary administrator, and from Gregory Wersching, the Vice President of Business Development at Housing Works and master operations coordinator. At the licensing level, they receive support from Dr. Reginald Fluellen and Dr. Mika’il DeVeaux, both noted experts on the regulatory requirement of the MRTA and who are functioning as senior advisors to Delaurna and Sonia. On real estate development, they benefit from the support provided by Edward Parker, the property owner and developer at 2223 New York Route 32, Kingston, New York, the retail site of Royal Blend Dispensary LLC. On training, they continue to receive support from The Bronx Cannabis Hub. On the legal front, they receive contract review and oversight support from Clair Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Finally, on general cannabis trends and cannabis retail information, support comes from Desmon Lewis, co-founder of the Bronx Community Foundation.

Delaurna and Sonia Murphy and their team of experts are excited about launching the grand opening of Royal Blend Dispensary LLC at 2223 NY-Route 32, Kingston, New York.

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