01
Family Ownership
No corporate parent. No distant investors. The Kushner family name is on the door, and reputation is built on every customer interaction.
KCN HOUSE STANDARD
VOL. 01 · ISSUE 665 · THE CONNECTION LIVE
A-SIDE
LINER
notes.
Where broadcasting heritage, Montclair roots, and cannabis culture come together — under one roof on Bloomfield Avenue.
COVER STORYEST 2025
THE KUSHNERS
three decades · radio · roots
06 TRACKS · ONE STORY
5–0
PLANNING VOTE
665
BLOOMFIELD AVE
88.0 MHz102.5 · MONTCLAIR108.0 MHz
TRACK 01 · 04:32
ORIGIN
Started at a kitchen table — between people who actually love this town.
Kush Connection did not start in a boardroom or a venture capital pitch meeting. It started the way most good things in Montclair start: around a kitchen table, between people who genuinely love this town and saw something it needed.
Jake Kushner grew up here. Montclair High School. The streets around Watchung Plaza. The independent shops and restaurants that made Bloomfield Avenue feel like more than a road. He watched the town evolve through the years, always maintaining its character as a place that values culture, community, and doing things with intention.
When New Jersey legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021, Jake saw an opportunity that went beyond commerce. This was a chance to build something that reflected Montclair itself: sophisticated but not pretentious, community-minded but commercially sharp, culturally rich and unapologetically authentic.
The result is Kush Connection. A family-owned cannabis dispensary at 665 Bloomfield Avenue in the former DeCozen Chrysler-Plymouth dealership, directly across from the MC Hotel. Not a chain. Not a franchise. A locally owned business with a family name on the door and a genuine stake in the community it serves.
SPEC SHEET · 04AQUICK FACTS
- FOUNDED2025
- PRESIDENTJake Kushner
- ADDRESS665 Bloomfield Ave
- TOWNMontclair, NJ 07042
- BUILDINGFormer DeCozen
- LANDMARKAcross MC Hotel
- APPROVED5-0 · July 2025
- LICENSENJ CRC Retail (Pending)
VERIFIED · KCN BROADCASTING
TRACK 02 · 03:18
THE BUILDING
665
FRAME 02-A · CIRCA 1950s POSTCARDFORMER DE COZEN DEALERSHIP
The building at 665-683 Bloomfield Avenue carries close to a century of Montclair history. For nearly one hundred years it operated as DeCozen — the long-running Chrysler-Plymouth dealership pictured above — a fixture of this commercial corridor that locals knew on sight.
More recently it ran for a few years as Montclair Motor Cars, which never quite found its footing. Now the building begins its next chapter, sitting in one of Montclair’s most visible commercial corridors — directly across from the MC Hotel.
When the Montclair Planning Board reviewed Kush Connection’s application in July 2025, they approved it with a unanimous 5-0 vote — a reflection of both the quality of the proposal and the community’s readiness for a dispensary that matched Montclair’s standards.
Walking in, you will not find the sterile, clinical environment that some dispensaries default to. You also will not find the overly themed, gimmicky approach that others take. What you will find is a space that feels considered.
DESIGN NOTES
- Industrial bones · warm lighting
- Curated art · recording-studio nods
- Retail floor designed for exploration
- Budtender stations for conversation
TRACK 03 · 05:47
BROADCASTING HERITAGE
SIDE A · CONT.
We are not trying to be everything to everyone — we are trying to be exactly the right thing for Montclair.
The Kushner family name has been part of the American broadcast landscape for decades. Steve and Patty Steele-Kushner— Jake’s parents — built careers in radio and broadcasting that gave them front-row seats to the intersection of music, media, and culture.
Their work exposed Jake to creative industries from childhood, shaping his understanding of how brands connect with audiences and how culture moves through communities. That background matters because Kush Connection is not just selling products. It is building a cultural space.
Cannabis and music have been intertwined since the earliest days of jazz. From Louis Armstrong to Willie Nelson, from the Grateful Dead to Snoop Dogg — the relationship between these two cultures is not incidental. It is foundational.
The Kushner family understands that connection not as outsiders looking in, but as people who grew up immersed in it. The “Dispensary + Music + More” tagline is not marketing copy — it is a mission statement.
30+
YRS BROADCAST
1990s
MONTCLAIR ROOTS
2021
NJ LEGALIZATION
2026
KCN OPENS
TRACK 04 · 07:12
THE
difference.
Six things that separate Kush Connection from a corporate chain.
02
Montclair Native
Jake Kushner grew up in Montclair, attended MHS, knows this community from the inside. A neighbor opening a business — not a brand parachuting in.
KCN HOUSE STANDARD
03
Cultural Depth
Roots in broadcasting and music bring genuine cultural understanding to cannabis retail — authentic heritage, not a manufactured vibe.
KCN HOUSE STANDARD
04
Product Curation
Every product on our shelves goes through rigorous evaluation. We partner with NJ cultivators committed to quality and transparency.
KCN HOUSE STANDARD
05
Staff Knowledge
Budtenders trained extensively on cannabinoids, terpenes, methods, and effects. They guide — they do not upsell.
KCN HOUSE STANDARD
06
Community Investment
A percentage of proceeds goes back to Montclair through partnerships, sponsorships, and community initiatives. This is our home.
KCN HOUSE STANDARD
TRACK 05 · 04:08
COMMUNITY
trust.
EARNED · NOT ASSUMED
CERTIFICATION · 07-2025
5–0
Unanimous
planning board approval
MONTCLAIR · NJ · JULY 2025
APPROVED
When Kush Connection went before the Montclair Planning Board in July 2025, the proposal received a unanimous 5-0 approval. That vote was not a formality.
Montclair takes its planning process seriously, and the board evaluated everything from site design and traffic impact to community benefit and operational standards.
The unanimous approval reflected months of preparation: community outreach, detailed site plans, security protocols, and a comprehensive operational blueprint that addressed every concern raised. It also reflected the Kushner family’s reputation in Montclair — people who have been part of this community and earned the trust that comes from being genuine neighbors.
When you live and work in the same town, there is no hiding behind a corporate brand. Your name is attached to everything.
TRACK 06 · 02:54 · CLOSER
WHY THE
name.
The name works on multiple levels, and that is intentional. Kushis one of the most recognized words in cannabis culture, rooted in the Hindu Kush mountain range where some of the world’s most legendary strains originated.
Connection is the bigger idea. The connection between cannabis and music culture. Between our family and Montclair. Between staff and customers. And between what cannabis was — through decades of prohibition and stigma — and what it is becoming.
Together, Kush Connection captures exactly what this business is about: high-quality cannabis, delivered through genuine human connection, in a space that honors the culture surrounding it.
It also does not hurt that the family name is Kushner. Some things are just meant to be.
ANNOTATIONS
- KUSHn. — heritage strain family from the Hindu Kush range
- CONNECTIONn. — between music + cannabis · family + town · staff + customer
- KUSHNERprop. n. — three generations on Montclair payroll
- KCNabbr. — Kush Connection · also a great call sign
END OF SIDE A
COME SEE WHAT
we’re building.
665 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07042 · across from the MC Hotel
MON–SAT 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM · SUN 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Cannabis products are intended for adults 21+ and medical patients with valid identification. Products are not approved by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Use may cause impairment and dizziness. Do not use while pregnant, breastfeeding, or operating vehicles. Keep all products secure and away from children and pets.