This Legacy-era rebel takes Nuna Harvest to the moon
In just a few months, Nuna Harvest has built one of the best cannabis teams in New York. Owner and veteran operator Howie Rondinone recently told Leafly how he did it.
New York has always been a city full of characters, where every industry, from technology to fashion to cannabis, is full of people whose lives seem to play out like they do in the movies. Or if you're Nuna Harvest owner Howie Rondinone, your life has been a TV show. More specifically, a mix of Showtime's Shameless and FX's Sons of Anarchy.
“I was a latchkey child. I didn't have a curfew. A lot of guns in my (childhood) house, a lot of drugs, a lot of bikers, a lot of hippies…dark but glamorous.”
Howard Rondinone, owner of Nuna Harvest Pharmacy
Howie was born and raised in the Bronx. His mother was a German-American, a “hippie rebel” and a father who was an “outlaw biker” Every night there is a fire escape. He jokes that he attended all three Woodstock concerts because his mother was pregnant with him. It seemed destined that he would work in the world of weed—old-school, legal, and everything in between.
“My mother saw that I was interested in growing, so she started[ed] Teach me how to grow. My father now owns all of these illegal plants and imports them from Jamaica and Colombia. I get sucked into retail with my old man. He explains to me how the import works. And then I go with my mother and get to know the actual plant. So that was kind of the starting point.”
Howard Rondinone, owner of Nuna Harvest Pharmacy
Howie learned the finesse necessary to run an undercover operation in New York City in the 1980s and began selling cannabis, which he got from his father when he was 12, to schoolchildren, making a name for himself. It was a time ripe for graffiti culture, and grass was an easy way to break into more and more subcultures.
Despite his extracurricular activities, Howie was a good student, but he was admittedly “always a money grabber.” As was common practice at the time, he joined the Grateful Dead and Deadhead audiences, following them on tour and lending his services. Through his mentor, he got an up-close look at importing cannabis from Jamaica, where he squeezed pounds into the heels of his shoes to bring it to Florida.
“From 1991 to 1999 I imported cannabis from Jamaica. I started with the shoes. I went up to luggage, coffee deliveries and imports of all kinds. I saw people die. I was almost killed. We all went to prison.”
Howard Rondinone, owner of Nuna Harvest Pharmacy
Here, too, he doesn't say anything about it with any seriousness. C'est la vie, right?
The '90s had three major storylines for Howie: running his international cannabis business, reconnecting with his high school girlfriend who had become his wife and mother of his son Peter, and his cannabis arrests. First in Florida, then in New York; After serving his time, Howie did his best to enter civilian life. He took a regular W-2 job and started a small community league for other Bronx kids to keep them from following his path, or worse. But all the while, he was still running his weed side business. He never imagined he could use his best skills on the other side of the law.
It doesn't look like an Apple Store or a medical spa. Howie himself has decorated the walls with his artwork, combining portraits of famous people like Snoop Dogg with the art style of Keith Harring. There's an entire hallway dedicated to artwork that Howie and manager Sherri McGee hope to source from local artists. He is also the buyer, ensuring his inventory reflects quality and appeals to the wide range of characters.
Howie's leadership style comes from his time at Altmarkt. Most of his team is also from the Bronx; He coached some of them in the little league all those years ago. Next year they hope to build a lounge and open the space for consumption. But for now, it's about running Nuna the same way he ran his previous empire.
“I want it to be like a big, warm hug when you come in. If I could put couches everywhere and have you sit here all day, I would.”
Howard Rondinone, owner of Nuna Harvest Pharmacy
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