9th Avenue Piano Bar Pivot to Legal Cannabis Dispensary Faces Regulatory Discord (2024)

The owner of a Hell’s Kitchen dueling piano bar has gained the support of the community board to transform his business into a legal cannabis dispensary — but state rules limiting the number of marijuana shops in an area could hit a sour note.

Steven Padernacht plans to transform Bar Nine, the piano bar he owns, into a licensed retail cannabis dispensary along with his lifelong friend Robert Lim. Padernacht hasrun Bar Nine since 2014 and is ready for a change; business has been down since the COVID-19 pandemic, and he’s hoping the burgeoning cannabis industry will prove more lucrative. “The foot traffic, specifically on [9th] Avenue, has changed dramatically,” he said. “I think people have realized that they don’t have to go outside and they can have a good time at home.”

Padernacht grew up in the Bronx with Lim, who was incarcerated for 15 years on marijuana-related charges. Lim is a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license holder, a licensing program run by the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to provide opportunities for “justice-involved individuals… impacted by the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition.”

“I didn’t know I could do half my life in jail for marijuana,” Lim told W42ST. “It’s awesome that I get the opportunity to bring positive energy and stuff from something that impacted my life in a negative way. I get to change it and flip it around and grow from it.”

Lim was originally given a CAURD license in the Bronx, but he said he has since applied for it to be moved to Manhattan, drawn by the island’s “vibe” and “energy.”

The friends’ plans are tempered, however, by an OCM rule requiring that licensed cannabis dispensaries be located at least 1,000 feet apart from one another in municipalities with over 20,000 residents. Another dispensary, Cannadreams, is set to open two blocks north in the former location of Bar Veloce at W56th Street and 9th Avenue. Bar Nine, located mid-block between W53rd and W54th Streets, is too close to the Cannadreams location, which is considered to be proximity protected.

Padernacht and Lim are currently appealing the OCM’s proximity rule. “We’re kind of in a holding pattern right now,” Padernacht said. Bar Nine’s lease is up for renewal in November, and he estimated he has until July to decide whether to continue business as usual.

“My initial thoughts are I’ll probably try to renew for maybe a year or so and try to wait,” Padernacht said. “Only because of my close ties to the community board and the block association. I like this community and I want to continue to do business there.”

Padernacht and Lim presented to Manhattan Community Board 4’s Cannabis Task Force at its March 21 meeting and ultimately gained the members’ support, with the request that the dispensary close at around 10 pm on weekdays and 11 pm on the weekends.

Andrew Goldstein, a member of the Hell’s Kitchen 49-54 Block Alliance, told the board he supported the change. “I think having a more regulated businesses there would actually be more beneficial to the residents,” he said, compared to an establishment serving alcohol.

If he and Padernacht succeed in opening, Lim said their business would be a retail dispensary, as opposed to a space for cannabis consumption.

“Our business model is they’ll come in, we’re going to have a waiting room set up for people so there’s not a lot of traffic overflowing onto the street,” Lim said. “From there, we have to approve that they are of age to walk in. There will be different stations, and they’ll buy their cannabis and then they’ll go home and consume it legally.”

Running a dispensary should come with less liability than a bar where people may be intoxicated, Padernacht said. While it’s possible people could consume marijuana outside of the shop, “we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that … there’s not anybody hanging out in front of our business or any of our neighbors consuming any of the cannabis that they buy,” he said.

Cannadreams, the dispensary slated to open at W56th Street, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the meantime, state regulations don’t appear to be getting in the way of the approximately 50 unlicensed smoke shops in Hell’s Kitchen, per W42ST’s Fall 2023 storefront survey. Three illicit smoke shops are currently open on the 9th Avenue blocks between the two proposed licensed locations.

Despite the obstacles, Padernacht and Lim remain positive. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed and I’m optimistic,” Padernacht said. “It’s going to come together.”