How Monteverde Dispensary is Redefining Cannabis in Red Bank, NJ

Elizabeth Egan is a healthcare professional, a business owner, and an advocate for alternative wellness.

She’s also the founder of the first woman-owned dispensary in Red Bank, New Jersey. In fact, her dispensary, Monteverde, is the first dispensary in Red Bank – period.

After months of navigating the New Jersey dispensary licensing process, Monteverde opened for medical patients in December 2023 and opened stores to recreational users in late February 2024. For medical and recreational customers alike, this boutique dispensary provides a calming, modern, and stress-free experience for purchasing premium cannabis products ranging from cannabis flower, edibles, and concentrates to CBD topicals.

However, a diverse range of quality products isn’t the only thing that sets Monteverde apart in the rapidly expanding New Jersey cannabis market.

Egan and the dispensary’s general manager, Brad Shelly, have taken deliberate steps to ensure that Monteverde is welcoming, safe, and staffed by cannabis experts who can help customers get the best medicine for their ailments.

A Personal Mission: Egan’s Journey with Cannabis

This mission is guided by Egan and Shelly’s experience using cannabis for their own medical needs.

Having recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Egan’s drive to help medical cannabis patients access their medicine in a simple, dignified way comes from her own success using the plant to relieve her symptoms.

However, she has also been gathering insights from her experience as a physical therapist for the past 24 years.

“So, being in the medical field myself, I’ve seen a lot of patients using cannabis but hesitant to talk about it. Others, who were in pain and on opioids, began saying, ‘There has to be another way.’ Friends and family started using cannabis, and that stuck with me,” shared Egan. “ Around the time we opened, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, so it became personal for me, using cannabis for sleep, pain, anxiety—everything. I became the customer. Now, friends come to me for advice on what to take, and I just direct them here for expertise.”

After becoming a medical marijuana patient herself, Egan now has a fresh perspective on how to set her store up for success: both from a business perspective and for satisfying her customers’ needs. Having her own experience as a medical cannabis patient, she now has a better understanding of what products to stock – and the quality of these products – to help her customers find the relief they’re seeking.

A Modern Dispensary Experience: Addressing Stigma and Misconceptions

While she has noticed a change since New Jersey legalized cannabis, this change does not mean the industry is perfect. Rather, the progress lays out a blueprint for other adjustments that may need to be made.

“Since cannabis became legal, more patients are open about it. Conversations that used to be secretive are now happening. People say, ‘I’m going home to take an edible’ or ‘I’m smoking a joint.’ That’s what I wanted—just to have the conversation. But there’s still work to be done, especially with doctors. Some patients still have trouble talking about it in medical settings, so we need to keep pushing for change.”

Her patients aren’t the only ones who would benefit from fewer obstacles. That’s where Monteverde comes in, driven by a mission to create an open environment for her customers to ask questions and get personalized recommendations and insights from the expert staff behind the counter.

This open environment is fostered long before the customer speaks to any dispensary employee, however. Rather, it begins in the design of the Monteverde dispensary itself. Especially after confronting skepticism from Red Bank locals before opening their doors, Egan took careful consideration in the design of the dispensary, implementing expert landscaping techniques, bright and calming interior decor, and instilling a foul-proof operations process to ensure brief wait times and shorter lines.

“We had to go up against the planning and zoning boards in the beginning. They had that stigma – they were expecting long lines, people to be hanging out outside of the store,” Egan shared. “And so they see everyday people, everyone from ages 21 to 95, that walk through this door, and they’re in and they’re out within a couple of minutes. Obstacles they thought would be a problem turned out not to be. Some of those people are now regular customers.”

Egan emphasized that part of breaking the stigma was ensuring the dispensary felt inviting and aligned with the local community.

“We take pride in our building itself. The inside is beautiful, and it goes with the vibe of Red Bank. It’s very bright. It’s not noisy and loud, so it’s very welcoming,” said Egan. “We’ve had people actually comment to us, to say they’re grateful. A lot of them expect to walk in and hear loud music and feel like they’re in a club. So, it’s still a business, but it’s comforting to them.”

Expert Staff and Tailored Customer Care at Monteverde

These sentiments are echoed by her general manager, who works on the ground level to ensure his customers are heard and cared for. Like Egan, he is guided by his personal relationship with cannabis, both as a medical patient and as a long-time member of the cannabis industry in Maryland and Washington D.C.

Now, he’s overseeing the day-to-day operations of Monteverde, and, in doing so, has sway in making sure regulars and new customers alike are met with five-star service.

“Most of the general public doesn’t necessarily have a full understanding of just how heavily regulated this industry is. So a lot of that stigma just comes from a place of misunderstanding. Our approach differs from other dispensaries on two fronts. First, the industry itself—we’re building relationships with vendors, going through their vetting processes, and ensuring we bring in the right quality products for our customers. I’ve focused on being selective with the brands and products we carry, carrying smaller brands that you don’t see in every store.” said Shelly.

Medical cannabis patients also have access to benefits in the store that recreational users don’t have – including discounts, special medical-only hours, priority parking, and a wider array of products designed to cater to certain symptoms or preferences, whether the customer is seeking to increase focus and concentration or relieve chronic pain.

“On the customer side, we take a more effects-based approach,” Shelly continued. “Many dispensaries just ask what you want, grab it for you, and that’s it. We want to know the effects people are looking for and guide them on their cannabis journey to find the right products.”

This commitment to understanding each customer’s needs has set the dispensary apart, emphasizing care and attention in every interaction.

Building Community Trust

Moreover, these efforts extend outside the walls of the dispensary. One major strategy in destigmatizing cannabis in the Red Bank community has been partnering with other organizations across the country and educating the locals about the misconceptions surrounding cannabis.

“We’re proud of the partnerships we’ve made. Two weeks ago, we sponsored a golf outing for children with cancer. We’re partnering with the Indie Film Festival and ocean cleanup efforts. We also supported Oktoberfest and 5K runs in Red Bank,” said Egan. “We want to give back and educate the community. We can’t sell products outside, but we’re committed to spreading information and showing that cannabis might be different than people thought.”

By integrating themselves into the local community through events and partnerships, the team has worked to dismantle stereotypes while building relationships, reinforcing that the dispensary is not just a business but a contributing member of Red Bank.

Elizabeth Egan’s journey in creating Monteverde is more than just opening the doors of a cannabis dispensary; it’s about changing perceptions and elevating the cannabis experience for everyone who steps inside. Through thoughtful design, personalized care, and an unwavering commitment to their customers, Egan and Shelly have worked together to redefine what a dispensary can offer—both in terms of products and community engagement. Her approach underscores that cannabis is not just a commodity but a tool for wellness, education, and connection.

From cultivating a welcoming atmosphere inside the store to forging partnerships with local organizations, Monteverde continues to prove that a dispensary can be a vital and positive force within its community. As Red Bank residents walk through its doors, they find not only a trusted resource for cannabis but also a business that is reshaping the way people view the plant and its place in everyday life.

Monteverde is located at 45 N Bridge Ave. Red Bank, NJ 07701. Hours of operation can be found here.