BUFFALO, N.Y. — The lines are no longer spanning down the street like they were two weeks ago at the grand opening of Dank, Western New York's first state-licensed cannabis dispensary. However, owner Aaron Van Camp said sales remain steady with the store typically serving about 500 customers per day.

"I'm feeling good about it right now," he said. "We're expecting a drop-off as more stores open, but right now it's been going really well."

Currently, Dank and Herbal IQ are the only state-licensed stores in the region but Office of Cannabis Management Chief Equity Officer Damian Fagon expects three more to open in August. He said while a lawsuit stalled the Western New York rollout, things are moving well now.

"A lot of those guys didn't just twiddle their thumbs while they were waiting for these licenses,” Fagon said. “They were lining up some property. They were building their teams out and so we're seeing the fruits of those entrepreneurs' efforts right there.”

OCM said the success so far does encourage other owners to get operational. Some owners, like Van Camp, are also planning on using their template and, in some cases, their capital to help make that happen.

"We'd like to hopefully get a couple more Danks opened up by partnering with CAURD members that might not have the financing or the know-how to make that happen," Van Camp said.

He said his store quickly went from understaffed to overstaffed, but he has plans to find enough hours for everybody in the near future thanks to a new state initiative.

"We're in partnership with a couple local brands for bringing out the farmers markets," Van Camp said. "We should have one running hopefully next weekend."

Fagon said the first Cannabis Growers Showing in the state should happen this weekend in which a retailer will partner with at least three farmers to sell their products outside the dispensary.

"Really, ultimately what we're trying to do here is bring farmers and our CAURD licensees closer to the consumers, closer to New Yorkers so they can talk about their brands, talk about their businesses and sell some great product," Fagon said.

Van Camp believes even as he gets more competition, his focus on local farms and processors will set Dank apart.

"I feel bad that we can't carry every product in our store,” he said. “We've been trying to keep it real local and trying to look for brands that aren't in any other stores as opposed to going with the big processor.”

OCM said July will be the first month where the cannabis sales rate projects to $100 million per year but believes by this time next year it could be $100 million per month.

Dank also hopes to have a delivery service running within the next week or two. It plans to focus on the Rochester region first because there are no state-licensed dispensaries there yet.