AC Leef’s Miguel Lugo talks cannabis and his best Atlantic City recs
“There’s been a lot of support in the community,” Lugo said. “In Chelsea Heights, the stigma has changed. Everybody is being very supportive.”
ATLANTIC CITY — This enigmatic coastal city now has more marijuana dispensaries than casinos, with the latest one to open being AC Leef, the first to take advantage of an expansion of the city’s green zone.
Located on Albany Avenue, across from Bader Field in Chelsea Heights, AC Leef is operated by owner Chris Aponte and product manager Miguel Lugo, who both successfully lobbied voters to get behind the expansion. It makes sense, as a dozen dispensaries in and around the original zone of Atlantic and Pacific Avenues are battling it out. “That’s a dogfight on Atlantic and Pacific Avenues,” says Lugo, 38, a former chef at Borgata.
“We’ve actually found our own niche here in this competitive environment,” Lugo says. “We keep doubling up in sales. There’s been a lot of support in the community. In Chelsea Heights, the stigma has changed. Everybody is being very supportive. It’s a beautiful location, the parking, everybody likes the ambience. Our budtenders are very knowledgeable.”
Unlike some other dispensaries, AC Leef is locally owned. Aponte is also an owner of ACX1 Studios on the Pier across from Caesars. Lugo, 38, a native of the Bronx, cited Anthony Bourdain’s loving view of A.C. in which he said, “... the bones, the skeleton of this city are beautiful.” He said the city felt like family to him after his brother’s death.
“Nothing against them, they all come here, but a lot of people are leaving these other spots,” he said. “I’m actually on the register. We have teachers, professionals, law enforcement, security. We’re tight-knit, more family oriented. That’s where we gain the edge.”
Every week, the staff samples different brands together, and the purchase of certain products — “donation doobies” — will lead to donations to local nonprofits like the Community Food Bank. Lugo recently cooked up some rice and beans and the staff went out to feed the homeless. “Little things that keep us more embedded in the community,” Lugo said.
As a chef, he’s looking forward to an evolution of state cannabis laws that will allow them to sell culinary cannabis. For now, the emphasis is on the delivery market and possibly cultivation. “We put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this,” he said. “We just achieved a milestone of over 1,000 customers.”
He gave us his best A.C. recommendations.
Favorite beach: Atlantic City. Chicken Bone Beach, next to ACX1 Studios.
Favorite summer breakfast: Demarco’s: turkey bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant, a little cream cheese spread on the croissant. I love Spanky’s too, but that’s for lunch.
Perfect beach day: Usually Sundays, we go on the beach. Some people go to church. I go to the beach on Sundays with the family. We’ll have lunch packed, hit the beach.
Perfect night: Walking the Boardwalk, hitting casinos up. Tropicana, Carmine’s. Life in A.C. is pretty cool, do a couple concerts, get a nice cheesesteak at Pizza King.
Best sandwich: Spanky’s. I’m getting Italian, regular with everything. It’s a staple in Chelsea Heights.
When summer approaches … I feel like the grand opening of AC Leef on Valentine’s Day. Everything’s been word-of-mouth. We’re giving people opportunities, local budtenders. A lot of people are coming in and they’re proud of us. We’re on the verge of breaking even. A lot of people thought all dispensaries will lose a lot of money. This summer, spring, 4/20, we’re really gonna rock out.
It wouldn’t be the Jersey Shore without: The Steel Pier.
Best things for kids: The Showboat, the indoor water park, the Lucky Snake.
Surfing or fishing? I’m actually a skateboarder. Skate AC is right around the corner at Sovereign Avenue on the inlet side.
Sunrise or sunset? Sunset. There’s a great sunset in Chelsea Heights going toward Ventnor. Purple in the sky.
Shore pet peeves My pet peeve is there’s a stigma around A.C. This is nowhere near Vegas. It’s its own town, has its own culture, 50 races within 48 blocks. People outside of Atlantic City have so much to say about Atlantic City. They don’t walk through it, go to work. I document a lot of things to motivate others. It has so much potential. Coming from the Bronx, the concrete jungle, now I’ve got a beach, the longest Boardwalk in the world. The salt air helped me with my asthma. There’s something about this place if you look at it.