How Dazed is turning dispensaries into party destinations at scale—from MA to NY and beyond

About Dazed

Dazed, a Black and Veteran owned multi-state cannabis retailer, is setting the tone for modern success in a rapidly evolving cannabis industry.

With star-studded “pink carpet” grand openings, on-site DJs, and an infusion of local culture, Dazed is making cannabis fun (and profitable) again.

Founded by Keshawn Warner, Rich Rainone and Chris Vianello, Dazed brings a fresh perspective, energy, and vibe that feels both universal and deeply rooted in each community they serve.

Since launching in 2021 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Dazed has expanded with a flagship store in Union Square, New York City, and a third location in Monson, Massachusetts.

The momentum isn’t slowing down. With grand plans for expansion to over 30 retail locations across the United States, the question for Dazed isn’t whether they’ll make it, but how far they will go.

The road to success isn’t easy. Co-founder Rich Rainone told us, “You have to put in 18-hour days, seven days a week to make this happen,” adding that for someone in his position, “You have to be hands-on.”

We sat down with Rich, Keshawn, and the Dazed staff to learn the magic behind running and growing Dazed—dispensaries that feel more like party destinations, where shopping for cannabis is something to celebrate.

Rolling out the pink carpet

Dazed is all about shaking up the industry and creating an inviting, vibrant environment.

“Dispensaries felt stagnant with an overbearing medical feel. We took the opposite approach and softened the experience. We got rid of traditional security guards, fluorescent lights, and disengaged budtenders," Rich explained.

To celebrate their Union Square grand opening, Dazed rolled out the pink carpet, literally. The official debut featured pink decor, celebrity guests, and an undeniable sense of style and culture.

“We’re carving our own lane. Other industry parties have a very different vibe, but we’re bringing a new energy to the space,” said Rich.

“We treat our stores like venues. We do model shoots. We've had art shows in our stores. Anyone who wants to book anything at our store can book it. For us, it's about having fun. People pass 10 dispensaries to come here. The culture is wild, and we embrace it.”

The staff run the show

Rich’s role at Dazed has him overseeing day-to-day operations, meaning he primarily works with store managers and staff.

His staffing philosophy is far from traditional, but it’s proven to be effective as Dazed has maintained incredibly low turnover.

“We don't treat our staff like employees, we treat them like partners. We pay for their breaks, we provide lots of free samples, and we make sure they feel empowered,” Rich shared.

As the current Head of Retail Operations, Yahaira Pagan’s career at Dazed is proof of that philosophy.

“I started as a budtender. Within a month, I became MOD (manager on duty). A couple of months later, assistant manager. A few months after that, purchasing manager. Then general manager," Yahaira said.

Beyond career growth, the work culture at Dazed is about freedom and authenticity.

The staff at every Dazed shop is hired locally, which makes the customer experience at each store entirely unique. That’s because at Dazed, the employees run the show.

“We let our staff run the vibe of the store," Rich said smiling. "They're the DJs and play whatever music they like. The only uniform they have is a Dazed shirt. Other than that, they can wear whatever they want.”

Even with considerable freedom, there’s a proven process to Dazed’s front of house experience. It all starts when a customer walks in. “You're always going to have somebody smiling at you, welcoming you in, and starting you off on the right foot,” said Rich.

Then they enhance the experience further using Flowhub. Rich noted, “What I love about Flowhub is our staff can add checked-in customers to a queue, then tell them not to worry about waiting in line and to just walk around the store until we call them up. It softens the experience.”

Rich is a proponent of calling customers by their names and building personal relationships. With customer insights on the Flowhub Cashier screen, his staff can see detailed customer notes, plus purchase habits and frequency, directly in their cart.

Scaling like Starbucks

Building a retail setting that dispensary staff and customers both love is only part of the battle for cannabis retailers looking to expand.

The focus behind Daze extends beyond how employees operate in a single location to creating an operational staffing system that scales with their growth path.

But how do you rapidly duplicate cannabis retail environments across state lines? Rich takes inspiration from Starbucks, the most popular coffee shop in the world.

“If you go to 99 out of 100 Starbucks locations, the experience is always the same, it’s consistent,” said Rich. “The employees are all great, the coffee tastes the same, everything is clean—that’s what we're looking for in terms of consistency across Dazed dispensaries.”

Growing with data

Dazed runs on numbers, and Flowhub’s analytics tools help drive smart decisions across all locations.

These insights help Dazed personalize the shopping experience at every store. “There’s a certain community here versus the community in Monson,” Yahaira explained.

“In Holyoke, people love flower and pre-rolls. In Monson, they’re into vapes and edibles. In Union Square, we see a ton of tourists. Flowhub helps us pull out those insights so we can stock what each community actually wants.”

Rich is also a fan of making real-time decisions based on Flowhub analytics. He told us, “I spent about an hour yesterday going over the busy times of day based on data in Flowhub. Because of that, we're considering extending store hours in our Holyoke location.”

For instant visibility into all store's performance on the go, Dazed relies on Flowhub's mobile analytics app, View.

Why Dazed is sticking with Flowhub

Rich and his fellow co-founders are smart, driven, and aligned on what they want and how they’ll get there.

When it came to choosing their point of sale partner, Rich said, “We look at three things when it comes to our POS system: how is it for owners, how is it for our staff, and how is it for our customers.”

When Dazed first launched, Flowhub was their go-to POS system. But like any smart operator, Rich wanted to re-evaluate their options as they scaled.

“We kept Flowhub Classic for about a year, then I decided to revisit all the vendors we had originally looked at. I was happy with Flowhub, but I wanted to see what else was out there,” Rich explained.

So, they switched. On that same day, Flowhub announced the launch of Maui.

“The other system we moved to was a disaster,” Rich admitted. “It was nonstop complaining from the staff. I called Flowhub with my tail between my legs, and just like that, we jumped into Maui. It’s been perfect since then.”

When Dazed expanded into New York, they faced a new challenge. Despite another POS system winning the RFP for the initial CAURD license holders, Dazed refused to settle.

“We moved down to New York and were kind of forced to use another system during our pop-up to help train our staff,” Rich explained.

“We brought a lot of people from Massachusetts, and right away they were like, ‘What is this? Why are we using this? This isn’t customer-friendly, this isn’t user-friendly.’ And I was like, 'Just deal with it. When we reopen, we’ll see what we can do.'”

As soon as they could, Dazed made the switch back to Flowhub.

“At the time, it made a big stink, but to me, it was about vendor responsibility. Just because you win an RFP or a contract doesn’t mean dispensaries have to use you if you're not delivering,” Rich said.

“I'm sure that contract says that there's a vendor responsibility: You must have good customer service, the product must perform the way you say it does, and training must be there. We didn’t get any of that. Things like that are what make Flowhub a great company.”

When business feels like family

For Dazed, Flowhub is more than just a POS provider. It’s a true partner in growth.

“Everything that we do is computer-based,” Keshawn explained. “Flowhub has been the center pinnacle towards our expansion. Without a stable platform like Flowhub, business operations would be that much more difficult. We need a system that can grow with us as we grow.”

But technology alone isn’t enough. Retailers need a partner who listens, innovates, and adapts.

As one of the fastest-growing cannabis retailers in the country, Dazed often gets calls from new dispensary owners asking for guidance.

“The first piece of advice I have for anyone opening a dispensary is to use Flowhub.”

Keshawn agreed, emphasizing the importance of choosing a system that empowers the team.

With Flowhub, Dazed isn’t just running dispensaries. They’re creating a cultural movement by transforming dispensaries into destinations at scale.

Thank you Rich, Keshawn, Yahaira, and the entire Dazed team for sharing your journey with us, and congratulations on all your success. We're proud to partner with you. Stay Dazed!