Alien Labs & Connected: They Got Denied Four Times And Still Built The Dopest Spot In NYC

Alien Labs & Connected: They Got Denied Four Times And Still Built The Dopest Spot In NYC

From First Smoke of The Day by Blackleaf & PackGods

May 11, 2026 · 1h 8m

About this episode

The episode discusses the journey of Alien Labs and Connected in establishing a cannabis retail location in New York City amidst various challenges.

Cali weed is now on a shelf in New York City. And we were there for it. First Smoke of the Day pulled up to Torches by Palanco Brothers on 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan for 420 weekend. Right above us, Alien Labs and Connected flower legally sitting on a shelf in one of the most historic buildings in New York City. A 100 year old cigar lounge where Frank Sinatra, Giuliani and every major hedge fund in New York once had a box. Now it belongs to the culture. We sat down with Ted from Alien Labs, Malik the product brand manager at Connected and Alien Labs, and the Palanco Brothers Jose and Santana who fought for over a year just to get this location approved and got denied four times before they made it happen. This is history. First time. New York City. 420 weekend. Alien Labs. Connected. Torches. All in one room. Subscribe to First Smoke of the Day for weekly cannabis culture, strain drops and the realest voices in the industry. Brands we trust: HGV Elevated — https://hydrobuilder.com/pages/fsotd Faven Lighting — https://favenlighting.com/ RAW Rolling Papers — https://rawthentic.com/ SlapHub LA — https://www.slaphub.la/ Chapters: 0:00 - Welcome To Torches 6:30 - Meet The Team…

People in this episode

Hosts: Blackleaf, PackGods

Guests: Ted, Malik, Jose Palanco, Santana Palanco

Topics covered

  • cannabis culture
  • entrepreneurship
  • New York cannabis market
  • business challenges
  • cultural history

Keywords

  • cannabis
  • New York
  • Alien Labs
  • Connected
  • 420
  • entrepreneurship
  • cultural history
  • retail
  • business challenges

Sponsors

HGV Elevated, Faven Lighting, RAW Rolling Papers, SlapHub LA

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: First Smoke of the Day

Places: New York City, Midtown Manhattan, 42nd Street, historic buildings

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