From left, Nick Sablan Jr., The Hook Up general manager; Krissa Deleon Guerrero, retail manager; Jen Sambile, operations manager; budtenders Nicolas Quitugua, Yan Jie S. Malin and Nora Vincent.
General Manager Nick Sablan shows some of the products ready for retail at The Hook Up.
Guests at The Hook Up can speak with budtenders to gauge which products will result in the effects they’re looking for.
THE Hook Up, the newest cannabis dispensary on island, will have a soft opening today, Friday, May 19, at 11 a.m., with refreshments served from the time the doors open until 2 p.m.
The Hook Up is located in Garapan, on the second floor of the building that houses Monster Pizza Pub and Xerox. It is near Century Hotel, on the corner lot of the intersection of Kalachucha Avenue and Route 308.
The dispensary is open for business from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The Hook Up General Manager Nick Sablan Jr. hopes to highlight his business’ service, aesthetics, quality, quantity, and price come opening day.
“When you come in we want you to feel like it’s a different environment,” Sablan said. “We want you to feel comfortable. We don’t want you to rush through it.”
He wants his business to feel more high end and erase the “taboo” associated with the cannabis industry. Inside The Hook Up is a comfortable front waiting area and a spacious back lounge for guests.
Sablan said guests can sit and “build a rapport” with the budtenders in order to match a customer’s desired outcome with a given strain’s qualities.
The Hook Up grows its cannabis in a three-grow-room, two-dry-room facility in As Teo where they have about 50 strains available, Sablan said.
The four that he and his staff highlighted for the Variety are Super Secret, Doggy Style, Soufflé, and Peach Gasoline.
“Super Secret is one of the best ones we have — it’s our baby,” Sablan said.
He and his staff have high expectations for their budding enterprise.
“Our endgame for the CNMI is to have the best cannabis at the lowest price. We’re here to show you it can happen — quality and quantity can combine,” he said.
