The Plant opened on May 9, 2024 as Yonkers' first licensed adult-use dispensary, and its owners are hardly newcomers to Central Park Avenue. Anthony and Regina Bannister, both Yonkers natives, already ran Smallcakes, a cupcake bakery and ice cream shop less than a mile up the same road, when New York legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021. The Plant describes itself as a Black-owned dispensary run by lifelong Yonkers residents, and the couple told News 12 the project was "three years in the making."
From cupcakes to cannabis
According to a profile in The Other Magazines, the path from bakery to dispensary ran partly through Smallcakes itself. The bakery's first employee, hired in 2016, was the daughter of cannabis attorney Mitch Kulick, and that connection gave the Bannisters an advisor when New York opened its Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program. State records list license OCM-CAURD-24-000063 under Jay Buddy LLC.
The road to opening day was not smooth. At the ribbon cutting, Regina Bannister described "a lot of emotional and financial stress" from the lawsuits that froze CAURD openings across the state in 2023, and said the pair stayed persistent. Anthony Bannister called the opening "the culmination of a lifetime dream." Westchester's business press noted that staff had gone through product training before the doors opened.
Running a bakery taught the couple some lessons that carry over. Both businesses sell to a walk-in neighborhood crowd, depend on repeat customers, and live or die on staff friendliness. At the opening, Regina Bannister contrasted The Plant's tested, state-licensed products with the unlicensed smoke shops that had spread across the area, and the owners have said they want The Plant to become a model other local operators can copy.
On the Yonkers–Scarsdale line
The store sits at 2595 Central Park Avenue, in the stretch of the avenue that crosses from Yonkers toward Scarsdale and Greenburgh. Its website uses a Scarsdale mailing address, while state records list it as Yonkers. The Other Magazines placed it across from Party City in a busy shopping corridor, and described a roughly 1,500-square-foot space designed to expand later.
That location is strategic. Several nearby municipalities, including Scarsdale, Bronxville, Eastchester, and Ardsley, opted out of hosting dispensaries, so residents there are among the shop's natural customers. The Plant's website points out ample on-site parking with accessible spaces, which matters on a car-oriented commercial strip. Bee-Line buses also run along Central Park Avenue for anyone without a car.
Hours, payment, and ordering
According to The Plant's website, hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The schedule filed with the state is a little different, so if you are cutting it close, call ahead at (914) 574-5602.
- Ordering: Online ordering with in-store pickup.
- Delivery: Not yet. The site says, "The Plant doesn't offer delivery just yet," and that delivery is coming to Westchester.
- Payment: The site mentions contactless payment options and on-site ATMs.
- Loyalty: A rewards program for repeat customers; check the shop's site or High Today's deals page for current offers.
The space itself was designed to grow. According to The Other Magazines, the current footprint can eventually expand to nearly double its size, which would give the shop room for more product and possibly the education programming the owners have discussed. For now, ordering ahead online is the simplest way to skip a line on busy weekend evenings.
A New York–only shelf
The Plant's own "about" language stresses that the products on its shelves "are grown, processed, and sold by New Yorkers." The menu includes flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, and CBD products. The site names brands including Nanticoke and Flav, and every item must carry New York testing and labeling. If you want to know more about the in-state growers behind brands like those, our roundup of the best New York-grown cannabis brands to know in 2026 is a good companion.
The Bannisters have said they wanted a modern, plant-centered design rather than a stereotypical "head shop" look. Published descriptions mention warm wood and green tones. The Plant's blog mixes cannabis education with local Westchester lifestyle posts, in keeping with the owners' stated goal of reducing stigma.
What reviewers point to
Reviews summarized on the shop's site and on listing platforms focus on staff knowledge and service, with individual budtenders frequently mentioned by name. Late hours and easy parking are other common positives. The Plant's Leafly profile is unclaimed and has no reviews, so Google and Weedmaps are better places to read customer feedback. The most consistent request is the one the shop has already acknowledged: delivery.
Central Park Avenue's other licensed shops
The Plant's first-in-Yonkers status was short-lived as the only option. Yonkers Dream opened a week later at 2245 Central Park Ave., and the corridor has kept adding stores, including Skones Dispensary at 743 Central Park Ave. in 2026. Budr Cannabis on Yonkers Avenue serves the southern part of the city. Among them, The Plant stands out for its local, Black ownership, its parking, and its location at the Scarsdale end of the avenue.
There is a policy reason the corridor matters. Under New York's 2021 cannabis law, cities, towns, and villages had until the end of 2021 to opt out of hosting dispensaries. Yonkers did not opt out, while several of its northern neighbors did. That puts the city's northern edge, where The Plant sits, in an unusual position: it is the nearest legal retail for a large, affluent population that cannot shop in its own town. Expect busier evenings and weekends for that reason.
OCM's records show how quickly the city filled in after The Plant's May 2024 opening. Yonkers Dream followed on May 16, 2024, another licensed retailer opened at 2371 Central Park Ave. that August, Budr arrived in October, a Saw Mill River Road shop opened that November, and Skones and Green Bar on McLean Avenue followed in early 2026. That is at least seven licensed storefronts within the city limits. For shoppers, it means The Plant's appeal now depends on what makes it different (its owners, its New York-only shelf, and its parking) rather than on being the only choice.
The verdict for shoppers
The Plant suits Yonkers residents, shoppers from the opted-out towns just north, and anyone who wants their money to stay with local, Black-owned small business. Delivery customers should look elsewhere for now. For a wider view of the county, see our guide to the best dispensaries in the Hudson Valley, and if you are new to cannabis, read your first time: what to expect before you go. More Westchester shops are listed in our dispensary directory.