The Joint is a women-owned adult-use dispensary at 904 Elmwood Avenue, on the main commercial spine of Buffalo's Elmwood Village, a district known for independent shops and restaurants. It opened on June 20, 2025, under retail license OCM-RETL-24-000264 (held by Buffalo Cannabis Connect, LLC), and it is the project of a business owner with deep roots on this exact street.
An Elmwood homecoming
Owner Nikki Burkhardt is an interior designer by training and runs the Design Center of Buffalo and Williamsville. Before that, she owned and operated Hardcore Tattoo Parlor, also on Elmwood Avenue. When Buffalo Toronto Public Media covered her plans in March 2025, she described the Elmwood Village as welcoming, artistic and open to unusual businesses, and explained that she chose a spot almost directly across from JT's restaurant because she believes food and cannabis businesses play well off each other.
The original target was a 4/20 opening; construction and licensing pushed the debut to late June. The shop launched with a small staff of about five, according to that pre-opening coverage. On its own site, The Joint calls itself "proudly women-owned" and family-run. Pre-opening coverage pegged planned hours at 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily; the shop has since added later Friday and Saturday closings and a shorter Sunday.
That design background is part of the story the shop tells about itself: its website says the goal is to understand each customer's needs and provide the right products in an environment that maximizes relaxation. Given her years running a tattoo studio a short walk away, the Elmwood store is less a new venture in an unfamiliar neighborhood than a return to a block she already knew as a business owner.
Who got there first
The Joint's website describes it as Buffalo's first dispensary in the Elmwood Village, and public-media coverage called it the first in the heart of the district's retail and residential core. For the record, Canterra opened a storefront at 451 Elmwood Avenue about three weeks earlier, on May 28, 2025, according to state records. The fairest summary: Canterra arrived first, farther south on Elmwood, while The Joint was the first to open farther north, in the core of the village's retail blocks.
Buffalo's cannabis map, redrawn
The Joint's arrival is part of a broader shift in where Buffalo buys legal cannabis. Among shops still operating, state records show the city's earliest licensed stores opened downtown on Main Street in July 2023 and on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo in December 2023. Elmwood had none until spring 2025, when Canterra and then The Joint opened within a few weeks of each other. That timing matters for shoppers: a district that had to drive to Hertel Avenue or downtown two years ago now has two walkable options and a delivery service based on the avenue itself.
What is on the shelves
The online store sorts the menu into six categories: flower, pre-rolls, vape cartridges, concentrates, edibles and topicals. Product-level pricing sits behind the store's menu and changes often, so we are not quoting prices here. The shop offers three ways to buy: walk in, order online for pickup, or use curbside pickup, which is handy on a block where parking turns over quickly. A mobile app was listed as coming soon at the time of writing (October 2026).
If you are new to legal shelves, our explainer on vapes vs. flower vs. concentrates helps narrow the choice before you arrive, and our beginner's milligram guide to edibles is worth reading before you buy gummies.
When to go and how to pay
According to the shop's website and the state license record, The Joint is open:
- Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
- Friday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Weedmaps lists the store as accepting debit and having an on-site ATM, along with an accessible entrance. The phone number is (716) 248-2285.
How curbside works on Elmwood
Curbside is The Joint's most useful convenience. You build an order on the shop's online menu, choose curbside at checkout and pull up when it is ready. Expect staff to check a valid government photo ID at the car, just as they would at the counter, because New York requires age verification at the moment of every handoff. Payment is settled at pickup, so have debit or cash ready. Online ordering also lets you see what is in stock in each of the six categories before you leave home, which saves a trip if a favorite is sold out.
Elmwood-area hours at a glance
State filings make it easy to compare when each nearby store is open. The Joint's 11 a.m. start is later than its neighbors, but its 10 p.m. weekend close is later than most of them:
- The Joint: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays, until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
- Canterra (storefront): 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, per its state filing, with longer online ordering hours on its website.
- Secret Garden 716: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
If you are heading over after dinner on a Friday, The Joint is the likeliest of the three to still be open; for a Sunday afternoon run, it also stays open an hour longer than Secret Garden.
Early feedback from shoppers
Review volume is still small, but it is consistent. Its Weedmaps page carried a perfect 5.0 when we checked this fall, and the comments return to the same points: staff who give honest, unhurried product opinions, a family-owned feel, and a shop that is dog friendly. Several reviewers frame it as a place to talk through options rather than grab and go. As with any newer store, the sample is small, so weigh it alongside your own comparison of the live menu.
Elmwood Village options compared
Elmwood is now one of the few Buffalo corridors with more than one licensed shop within walking distance, so it is easy to compare:
- Canterra (451 Elmwood Ave) is the delivery specialist, with long posted hours and a rotating list of brand specials.
- Secret Garden 716 (1363 Delaware Ave) is a short drive away on parallel Delaware Avenue.
- Best Budz (146 Virginia St) in Allentown keeps later weekend hours; read our Best Budz profile for details.
Best match
The Joint is a strong fit for Elmwood Village residents who want to walk to a licensed shop, for shoppers who specifically want to support a women-owned local business, and for anyone who prefers a conversation with staff over a self-serve kiosk. If you prioritize delivery or the widest possible catalog, a larger operator may serve you better. Current promotions from Buffalo shops are on our deals page, and The Joint's live menu is on its official site.