CORNING, NY (WENY) -- Steuben county's first licensed marijuana dispensary is now open in Corning. 

Culture Canna Co. opened its doors for a soft opening on March 19th. The co-owners, Matt Coley and Mark Kamandulis say the business has been a goal of theirs for several years, especially since New York state legalized recreational marijuana and retail operations.

The pair first applied for their state license in 2022, and were officially granted a retail dispensary license in November of 2023. They purchased the building at 90 West Market Street in the interim, knowing they wanted to be part of downtown Corning's small business environment.

"It took us about ten months from site approval from the municipality to get final licensure from the state, which happened in late November of last year. And once we got that we immediately began the process of turning it into a dispensary from the prior business," said Coley. 

"For our region, we feel like Market Street is the premier location. We like the mix of small business, we've like that it's not a big corporate area, say some of the other retail shopping areas, we really feel like us being a small business being the area, this is the premier area to be operating in in the Southern Tier," said Kamandulis.

On Tuesday afternoon, a steady stream of customers were coming in and out of the store. The pair says the response from customers since their soft opening has been more than they anticipated, and they're already planning to hire more staff. 

Culture Canna Co. sells cannabis flower, pre-rolls, edibles, concentrates, vapes, and other marijuana products. The pair says they source many of their items from local or regional cultivators.

The shop is open six days a week, Monday and Tuesday from 10AM - 9PM, and Wednesday through Saturday 10AM until 10PM. A grand opening is planned for sometime in April. 

Coley and Kamandulis say they plan to open up to two more locations in the future, as allowable under their state license.