When 420 Bliss opened on December 7, 2023, the Capital Region had almost no legal places to buy cannabis. The shop at 740 Hoosick Street in Troy opened the same week as Capital District Cannabis and Wellness on Central Avenue in Albany, and Governor Kathy Hochul's office announced the pair together as new adult-use dispensaries for the region. Nearly three years later, 420 Bliss remains one of the area's longest-running licensed shops, now with daily delivery and its own ordering app.
Three owners and a social equity fund
The Governor's office identified the owners as Al Attoh, Renee Lindo and Gregg Little, entrepreneurs with backgrounds spanning retail, real estate, construction and the music business. Their stated goal was a stable, long-lasting business that gives customers a comfortable experience.
420 Bliss is a CAURD store, opened through the state program designed for people affected by past cannabis enforcement, and it was one of the shops supported by the New York Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund. Under that model, the state's Dormitory Authority (DASNY) located, renovated and equipped storefronts for CAURD licensees, who then repaid the costs over time instead of raising outside capital up front. The approach was meant to solve the biggest early obstacle CAURD owners faced: finding landlords and financing in a cash-starved, federally illegal industry. Attoh was candid about why it mattered: in the state's announcement he said that without the fund, the owners would likely have had to take on equity partners and give up part of the business.
Early to a slow-starting region
It is easy to forget how thin the Capital Region's legal market was in late 2023. New York's first adult-use sales happened in Manhattan in December 2022, and through most of 2023 openings were concentrated downstate, with upstate cities waiting months for their first licensed counters. When 420 Bliss and Capital District Cannabis and Wellness opened within a day of each other, they gave Rensselaer and Albany counties some of their first legal storefronts. Shops like 400 River downtown and The Bakery in Cohoes did not arrive until the following summer.
Surviving nearly three years in a market that has since filled with competitors is a meaningful track record for a small, independent CAURD shop.
On Hoosick Street, east of downtown
Hoosick Street is NY Route 7, the main commercial artery running east from downtown Troy toward Brunswick and Bennington. 420 Bliss sits in the busy retail stretch out by the big-box stores; Leafly reviewers mention that it shares a plaza with a Walmart and has plenty of parking. That makes it a very different stop from the walkable River Street and Congress Street shops downtown: convenient for errands, easy to reach from Brunswick and the eastern Rensselaer County suburbs, and a short drive from RPI.
Shelves and categories
The shop's website lists flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates and vapes, and Albany.com's guide adds cartridges, topicals, tinctures and merchandise, describing an extensive range of strains and brands. 420 Bliss does not publish a fixed brand list on its homepage, so the live menu in its app or on its site is the place to see what is in stock.
For shoppers weighing formats, our explainers on edibles vs. smoking and how long effects last and on what THC percentage really tells you are good preparation for a conversation with staff.
The app and delivery
Two features set 420 Bliss apart from many single-store independents:
- A dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android, built on the Carrot platform, that lets customers reserve products, track rewards, check inventory and get deal notifications.
- Delivery, which the homepage advertises as now available.
Between the app and delivery, you can shop 420 Bliss without setting foot in the store. For a small independent, that is a meaningful investment: many single-location shops rely on third-party menu sites rather than a branded app, and the reservation feature is useful when a popular product is running low. If you plan to have an order delivered, have your ID ready, since an adult 21 or older must accept it in person. Rewards accrue inside the app, though the exact earning rate is not posted publicly. Promotions for Troy-area shops, including 420 Bliss, appear on High Today's deals page.
At a glance
- Address: 740 Hoosick Street, Troy, NY 12180
- Phone: 518-629-9511
- Hours: a uniform 9-to-9 schedule all week, according to 420-bliss.com
- Ordering: in store, online, or through the 420 Bliss app; delivery available
- Age: 21+ with valid ID
The people factor
Public feedback is consistently warm about the people. Its Leafly page showed 4.7 stars from a small pool of reviews in October 2026, with the strongest marks for service and atmosphere. Reviewers there and in Albany.com's summary describe friendly, helpful staff, employees who remember regulars by name, a welcoming and LGBTQ+-friendly atmosphere, no lines outside, and competitive prices.
The criticisms are narrower: one reviewer said availability at higher price points was limited compared with competitors, and a single reviewer reported reacting badly to certain products. Individual reactions vary widely, which is one reason to start low with anything new; our guide to what to do if you get too high is worth bookmarking.
How it compares in Troy
Troy now has several licensed options, each with a different personality:
- 400 River, on River Street downtown, opened in August 2024 as a microbusiness selling flower from its own Washington County farms, and stays open until 10 p.m.
- The Greenhouse Cannabis, at 514 Congress Street, is a downtown multi-brand shop handy for anyone already in the city center.
- Capital District Cannabis and Wellness, on Albany's Central Avenue, is 420 Bliss's opening-week counterpart: a CAURD store whose two owners grew up together in the Capital Region and which also came together with help from the Social Equity Investment Fund, according to the Governor's office. It is the more convenient pick for Albany's west side and Colonie.
420 Bliss distinguishes itself with its early CAURD history, the app-plus-delivery convenience, and a big-box-corridor location with easy parking. Downtown shops win on walkability and, in 400 River's case, on farm-direct flower. Our ranking of Albany and Capital Region dispensaries and the High Today dispensary finder make it easy to compare menus.
Where 420 Bliss fits best
420 Bliss fits east Troy, Lansingburgh, Brunswick and Rensselaer County residents running errands on Route 7, regulars who value staff who know them, and anyone who prefers to order through an app or have products delivered. It is also a sensible first stop for newcomers; our first-visit etiquette guide covers ID, payment and tipping.