A Year of Milestones
Highlife Health Dispensary in New Rochelle recently celebrated its one-year anniversary with a community gathering that brought together customers and brands. For founder Jennifer Gierum, the day was surreal.
“It was kind of crazy. I just kept thinking back a year before, we were one of the very first in the state that were ready to open. So there was nobody to help us along the way. And we were in uncharted territory and as green as they come, we didn't even have big money or big cannabis knowledge behind us. It was legitimately just us.”
What began in a petit storefront has now expanded into triple the space, with a growing team and a loyal customer base.
Why “Health” Matters
The name Highlife Health is more than a brand — it reflects Jennifer’s personal journey into cannabis. Her family never expected to be in this industry until medical necessity brought them here.
“My youngest son broke his back when he was younger and he was put on every nerve medicine under the sun, whether it be narcotic or non-narcotic from, but gabapentin being the worst. And I found the use of just regular CBD products would help him tremendously way more.”
“So really changing the stigma and saying, Hey, I'm a mom. I didn't want my kids to do this in the first place because I was told it was really bad for you for the long term. But I am seeing the positive effects that this is having on them, whether it be for their back pain, chronic or for their anxiety. My children are normal functioning human beings when they take this substance, when they do other substances, they're not.”
For Jennifer, the “Health” in Highlife Health is a mission: to show families that cannabis can provide relief where pharmaceuticals often fail. “but at the end of the day, we realize that this business is bigger than our store and that our message is bigger than anything that we can do. We can just contribute a very positive factor to that and we can hope that others fall behind and follow suit with that message.”
Whether medicinal or “recreational” Highlife stands to provide the best the industry can offer.
Family First
Highlife Health is, above all, family-run and operated. Jennifer holds the license, but her husband and sons are part of the operation every day.
“The fact that we actually are family owned and operated. I run the store and I am a SEE applicant. So because of the fact that I'm a woman, we were lucky enough to have this opportunity, but I couldn't do it without my family. But that's what differentiates ourselves because we truly are the people who are living the stereotype of what needs to change in order to change the narrative about this product.”
“There are no experts in this industry. To be able to navigate it with my kids and help them also learn and be their mentor in business is incredible. I'm their life mentor, but for them to be able to be like, wow, we're actually navigating this and mom's letting us hold the reins. I give them every opportunity to speak to every vendor and every supplier and go and meet every cultivator and go to the labs and look at every opportunity out here.”
“This is real life, this is culture. This is mom, dad, and kids trying to sell this product in a really safe and effective way that can help a lot of people.”
Building Brand Relationships
Jennifer is proud of the network of brand partners Highlife Health has developed in its first year.
“Oh, sure. So when we first started, I basically had very limited resources. The relationships that we have with suppliers now are incredible. We have conversations about what we need, what customers are looking for, and I see our brands make products every day based on things that we talk about and recommend.”
“we truly stand behind the products that we sell. And if they don't work in our store, we're honest.”
Highlife has it’s cozy shelved filled with products that they stand by top to bottom and after a year they’ve really dialed in what works for their unique New Rochelle customers.
Some Lows Along the Way
The path hasn’t been easy. Jennifer recalls difficult days. “There have been days when I've sat in the inventory room and just cried because it's overwhelming. You're dealing with not just an emerging business that is very cutthroat.”Due to compliance, banking and customer check out is consistently challenging. “Trying to educate without deterring and trying to explain that this is the environment that you're buying in is such a hardship and it's so draining.” No apple pay, customers want the non-endemic experience but banking normally is prohibited by antiquated laws and regulations.
Still, she never lost sight of her purpose.
Jennifer’s Highest Moment
Through it all, Jennifer says her greatest joy has been watching her family thrive in the business. “Oh gosh. Seeing my kids every single day take over and learning this business from the ground up, it's everything. And then seeing our customers responding to that, the fact that people come in and they see us all independently when they finally piece together, wait a minute, the guy in the corner is the husband, wait and Oh, wait, the lady in the office, that's the wife and she's the owner, and then the boys work here. And it's like when they piece all this together, those are the moments that are awesome because this is what changes the way people view our business and what we're about.”
Looking Forward
After a year of building, expanding, and learning, Jennifer knows there’s much more ahead. “I don't exactly know where we're going or what I'm headed to, but I know if we just keep pushing forward, something amazing is going to come out of it, whether it be some kind of social change or some kind of change within my own family, even who knows what it is at this level, but this industry in particular is so emergent in New York, the sky's the limit.”
Highlife Health’s first year proves what’s possible when a family enters the cannabis space with heart and purpose. From health struggles to community healing, from one tiny storefront to a full expansion, Jennifer and her family have built something bigger than business.
“I was blessed, but we're definitely running with it. This is our life now.”
