King of Budz is the New York outpost of a Michigan dispensary chain, and it brings that market's big-box habits to the Buffalo suburbs: a large menu, early hours, aggressive ounce pricing and free delivery. The store at 2200 Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga opened on August 8, 2025, operating under CAURD license OCM-CAURD-25-000289, which state records list under Empire State Gallery Holdings, LLC.
A Michigan chain's lone New York store
According to its Weedmaps profile, King of Budz began in Detroit before expanding to Buffalo. Its website lists Michigan stores in Monroe, Detroit, Ferndale, New Buffalo, Roseville, Inkster and Taylor, and the Cheektowaga shop is its only New York location as of October 2026. That chain background explains a lot about how the store operates: daily specials, a points program, app-based ordering on iOS and Android, and a "bud bar" where, the company says, budtenders walk you through strains.
The license behind the sign
Although the storefront carries a chain brand, the license itself is a CAURD, the conditional retail category New York first offered to justice-involved applicants with business experience. The state's public license table lists Empire State Gallery Holdings, LLC as the licensee, with King of Budz as its business name; the license was issued July 3, 2025, five weeks before the doors opened. If you want to confirm you are shopping a legal store, search that license number on the state's verification tool or scan the QR code posted at the entrance.
For drivers, Walden Avenue connects to the New York State Thruway at Exit 52, so the store is easy to reach from the Thruway as well as from Buffalo's east side.
Early mornings and the happy hour
The store is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, a schedule confirmed by both the company and the state's license table. That 8 a.m. start is earlier than most Buffalo-area dispensaries, and King of Budz leans into it with a Happy Hour: 10% off non-sale items Monday through Wednesday from 8 to 11 a.m., according to its Buffalo page. Other posted discounts include:
- A free goodie bag for first-time customers, plus bonus loyalty points on a first visit
- 10% off for medical patients with a valid card
- A 5% military discount
- A $10 store credit for referring a friend
Cheektowaga hours compared
How does an 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. day compare locally? According to the hours filed with the state:
- King of Budz opens first, at 8 a.m. every day, and closes at 10 p.m.
- Buffalo Cannabis Store on Union Road opens at 10 a.m. but stays open until 11 p.m. daily, the latest close in the group.
- Cloud 9 Dispensary on French Road keeps shorter hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
- AMSM, a CAURD store on Clinton Street, runs 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. most days.
So King of Budz wins on mornings, while Buffalo Cannabis Store is the late-night option. On Sundays, King of Budz's full 14-hour day is notably longer than most of its neighbors.
Free delivery across eight communities
Delivery is a major part of the pitch. King of Budz offers same-day delivery from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and it is free on orders over $75 within 10 miles, according to the Buffalo store page. The listed service area covers Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Amherst, Tonawanda, Williamsville, Depew, Lancaster and West Seneca. You can also reserve online for express in-store or curbside pickup on Walden Avenue.
Planning a delivery order
Delivery orders run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., an hour shorter at each end than the store itself. The free-delivery threshold is $75 and applies within 10 miles of Walden Avenue, according to the company; the site does not publish a fee schedule for smaller orders, so check your cart before you confirm. Expect an ID check at your door, and plan to be home for the handoff. If you live outside the eight listed towns, pickup is the safer bet.
Inside a big menu
Menu categories run from flower and pre-rolls to vaporizers, cartridges and disposables, edibles, concentrates, tinctures, topicals, CBD and accessories, all from New York licensed producers. At the time of writing (October 2026), the store's site was featuring $99 ounces as a headline deal, and Weedmaps showed more than 700 products listed. Ounce pricing like that is aimed squarely at regular flower buyers; before buying in bulk, our guide to grams, eighths, quarters and ounces helps you check the per-gram math, and our note on storing cannabis so it stays fresh helps an ounce last.
New York caps a single adult-use purchase at three ounces of flower and 24 grams of concentrated product, which applies to delivery orders too.
Doing the ounce math
A $99 ounce works out to about $3.54 per gram, which is well below what an eighth-by-eighth habit usually costs. That said, the cheapest ounce is not always the best value. Check the harvest or packaging date on bulk flower, look at whether it is labeled as smalls or shake, and compare it with the per-gram price of eighths you already like. If you buy in bulk, an airtight container and a cool, dark shelf matter more than usual.
Reviews so far
King of Budz is still building a public track record in New York. When we checked in October 2026, its Weedmaps and Leafly listings for the Cheektowaga store showed no customer ratings yet, so we cannot summarize review trends. That will change as the store matures; check Google or Weedmaps for current feedback before your first order.
The Walden Avenue corridor
Walden Avenue is one of Cheektowaga's main commercial strips, the same road that leads to the Walden Galleria mall near Thruway Exit 52. It is a car-first area with big parking lots, which suits a store built around quick pickups. Two other licensed Cheektowaga shops are close enough to compare:
- Cloud 9 Dispensary, at 1380 French Road, opened in August 2025, the same month as King of Budz.
- Buffalo Cannabis Store, at 2760 Union Road, has been open since October 2024.
Closer to the city line, Erie County's busiest stores are ranked in Best Dispensaries in Buffalo Right Now.
Who should make the drive
King of Budz suits suburban shoppers who want a wide selection, ounce buyers watching price per gram, early risers, and anyone in its eight-town delivery zone who would rather not drive. If you prefer a small, owner-operated shop with a tightly curated shelf, look elsewhere. Stack its specials against the day's deals elsewhere, and confirm stock on the King of Budz Buffalo page.