They’re looking to weed out hate.
The first licensed marijuana shop on Staten Island is going to be jointly run by an unlikely business duo: a Jewish man and a Muslim man vowing to show people of their faiths can get along and even prosper together.
“We want to show what happens when Jews and Muslims work together,” said Shlomo Weinstock, who will be running The Flowery with his partner Mohammed “Mo” Elgaly.
“A Muslim and a Jew are about to open a successful business together!”
The Flowery is set to officially open Wednesday in the city’s most conservative borough at 3022 Veterans Road West, near the Outerbridge Crossing.
Elgaly said the pair “have too much in common.”
“We come from Abraham,” Elgaly said. “We eat the same food. We have the same personalities.”
Both said they are pained by the bloodshed and killings resulting from the Hamas-Israel war and believe cannabis can calm the hate and tensions — at least here in New York.
“It’s horrible. Both sides are dying,” said Weinstock, whose grandparents survived the Holocaust.
Elgaly has roots in Egypt.
Both bring prior business experience to the pot venture.
Elgaly has run eateries — including a pizzeria and a bagel store on the island. Weinstock was a music tour manager.
Both were convicted for marijuana offenses.
They said their pot store will be a hit with residents of Staten Island’s quieter suburban bedroom neighborhoods, where people can smoke or ingest cannabis at home with friends.
“We have pool parties here. Summer time is fantastic here on Staten Island,” said Elgaly, who lives nearby to the store.
They also expect Garden State residents to drive over the Outerbridge to get some doobie.
“You could see the bridge to New Jersey from our store,” Elgaly said.
Unusual for a city cannabis dispensary, The Flowery will be spacious — with 15 parking spaces for people to drive in, buy their marijuana blunts or edibles — and drive out.
A bonus: A ShopRite supermarket is located right next door, so customers can also buy food to pair with their pot if they get the munchies.
The duo was able to lease the building, thanks to the New York State Dormitory Authority, which was given the authority to help find locations and negotiate terms with landlords for cannabis store licensees.
The Post recently reported that one of the reasons that cannabis merchants hadn’t opened a dispensary yet on Staten Island was the difficulty in finding space.
Weinstock and Elgaly said they were ready to open last August, but were derailed by a lawsuit filed against the state that froze approvals. The lawsuit was recently settled.
“We are super excited to open. Mo has the experience running retail. He’s the mayor of Staten Island,” Weinstock said.
The Flowery will be the 49th licensed cannabis operator to open in the state and the 19th in New York City.
But regulators and law enforcement are still grappling to close an estimated 1,500 unlicensed weed shops in the Big Apple, according to Mayor Eric Adams.
Gov. Kathy Hochul last week proposed a law making it easier for New York City and other localities to padlock illicit stores to help grow the legal market.
The law legalizing recreational use of marijuana was approved in 2021, but the market has been slow to get off the ground.