Listen to this article

A recreational cannabis dispensary co-owned by Jason Ackerman, the founder and former CEO of online grocery delivery service FreshDirect, is poised to launch in New Jersey.

Scheduled to open Dec. 9 in Ackerman’s hometown of Roselle Borough, Joyleaf aims to offer customers an interactive shopping experience, as well as reassure the community that its first dispensary is packed with hands-on experience in running a safe and compliant cannabis venture.

The storefront at 711 E. First Ave. is also located in a former wall cover factory owned by Ackerman’s family that operated in town for over 50 years.

Prior to helping build Joyleaf, Ackerman founded FreshDirect in 1999 and spent nearly 20 years leading the Long Island, N.Y.-headquartered business. From November 2019 through June 2021, he was CEO and executive chairman of cannabis giant TerrAscend, a multistate operator that has nearly 40 dispensaries nationwide, including three in New Jersey.

Joyleaf will be led by Dharshini Casinathen, a local resident, certified cannabis sommelier and CPA with over 20 years of experience at companies including PepsiCo and KPMG Canada.

Casinathen, whose passion and advocacy for the plant began as a medical patient, commented, “I personally experienced the transformative power of cannabis, igniting my journey in 2018. Our goal is to create a dispensary that is truly consumer-centric. Our mission is to create experiences of Joy by helping customers find the right product for the right moment for them.”

“We believe in the potential of cannabis to enhance lives, and we are excited to share that potential with the greater Roselle community,” she went on to say.

Ackerman said, “I’ve had the opportunity to experience the Joy of being an entrepreneur and I’ve always believed in empowering like-minded innovators to break barriers and enter new frontiers. Teaming up with Dharshini is extremely gratifying to not only support a women-led business, but to help rethink the retail experience for people to engage cannabis in a safe way.”

Joyleaf’s Dec. 9 grand opening will begin at 10 a.m. and feature a dispensary tour, guest speakers, product information and exclusive promotions for attendees.