The first thing I learned guest budtending in Brooklyn? Your feet hurt before your shift is halfway done. But the conversations make it worth it.
I spent the day behind the counter at By Any Other Name (BAON) in Clinton Hill to experience budtending from the inside, where product knowledge matters, but people matter more.
Photo by Matt Curry
Learning the menu is just the beginning. The real work happens on the floor: listening to people, asking the right questions, and guiding them to something that fits. At BAON, almost every customer was greeted by name, like walking into a neighborhood bodega instead of a dispensary.
BAON stands out because it carries micro-grow boutique products you rarely see in NYC.
Biggie, Bud, and Brooklyn Pride
The tight-knit Brooklyn community of Clinton Hill is where rap icon Biggie grew up. The street features a life-size mural of Biggie on the corner. The community honors his birthday every year with block party celebrations.
The owner of the dispensary, Ted Crawford, is a Brooklyn native who is dedicated to the borough and the neighborhood. “Our dispensary uplifts the neighborhood and fits in like an important piece of a complicated puzzle,” says Ted.
Ted’s story is provocative; he grew up in nearby Bushwick and was arrested over 30 years ago for a marijuana-related offense, but didn’t do time. “I was lucky to have a lawyer who knew the parameters. He worked hard to help me,” says Ted Crawford, Owner, By Any Other Name.
A businessman and entrepreneur, Ted Crawford also owns a restaurant in Harlem called Row House. He knows how to run a successful business. The dispensary opened less than a year ago with grit and determination, but Ted doesn’t speak about that like most owners who have been through the …
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Author: Lulu Cohen / High Times
