Exotica Gardens, owned by Richard Neale, is the newest cannabis business coming to the New Jersey based Burrough of Eatontown, making six total, though not all are up and operating yet.
Neale, who is originally from the West Coast where he first learned the craft, moved to Eatontown and had been looking for about three years for the right warehouse space to become available on Industrial Way to open a cultivation business using hydroponic techniques — that is, growing the plant in water mixed with mineral fertilizers.
He was approved last fall by the Planning Board and said he should be up and running by late spring with a capability to grow over 1,000 pounds of cannabis per year to be sold at dispensaries. He described his business as a "small craft boutique."
The cannabis industry has been a lucrative trade for the borough as far as tax revenue goes. Since the first retail dispensary opened in the first quarter of 2022, cannabis sales have brought in a little over $1.2 million in tax revenue, which goes to the borough's general fund, according to the findings of an Asbury Park Press request for tax revenue.
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