When Verdi Cannabis soft-opened at 158 West 23rd Street on January 12, 2024, local paper Chelsea Community News described it as the first and only legal, licensed adult-use dispensary in Chelsea's 10011 ZIP code. A formal ribbon-cutting followed two weeks later. Nearly three years on, Chelsea has more licensed options, but Verdi still has a profile that is hard to copy: a father-and-son business with liquor-retail roots, a free music series, and a calendar of community events that reads more like a neighborhood arts space than a cannabis counter.
A liquor-store family's turn toward cannabis
The license holder is Ellis Soodak, who was 25 when he spoke with Chelsea Community News in March 2024; he runs the shop with his father, Mitchell Soodak. According to that interview, the family has owned New York City liquor stores for decades, which gave them a working knowledge of age-gated, heavily regulated retail before cannabis was legal. The same piece describes a more personal motivation: Mitchell was arrested for marijuana possession years ago, an episode the family links to a painful chapter in its history. Verdi's website lists the operating company as Soodaks, Inc. and calls the business 100% family-owned and operated.
That background helps explain the tone the Soodaks have set. In the 2024 interview, Ellis talked about wanting a store "for everyone" and about pursuing Braille packaging for blind shoppers, a notable idea given that Selis Manor, a residence for blind and visually impaired New Yorkers, sits across the street. The shop occupies roughly 1,800 square feet, with about 1,300 square feet of selling floor and storage in the basement, per the same report. When it opened, customers browsed on interactive kiosks and paid at a counter in the back.
Thursdays in the Green Room
The detail that sets Verdi apart from most Manhattan dispensaries is the Green Room Live Music Series, free live music on Thursday nights. Chelsea Community News reported in April 2025 that assistant general manager and events coordinator Kenny Cunningham launched the series in August 2024, pairing performances with small gallery shows. In warm weather, he told the paper, open doors and live sets pull people in off 23rd Street.
The music is only part of the programming. Over its first full year, the shop staged dog-painting sessions with non-toxic paint, tattoo pop-ups with local artists, rolling contests, trivia nights, a pet fashion show, a four-day run of shows around New Year's Eve, and brand activations with more than a dozen partner companies. Verdi also ran a winter clothing drive with the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen and raised money for Los Angeles wildfire relief and prisoner advocacy. Before you plan an evening around any of it, check Verdi's site or Instagram, since event schedules shift.
What's on the shelves at 158 West 23rd
Verdi's online menu is organized both by format (flower, pre-rolls, vaporizers, edibles, concentrates, tinctures, beverages and mixed assortments) and by intended mood, with tags such as creative, chilled out, focused, sleepy and calm. Local press has named brands the shop has carried over time, including Jack Bear Farm, Flamer, Drew Martin, Soft Power Sweets, Umami, Toast, Fernway, MFused and Eaton Botanicals. Inventory rotates, so treat that list as a sense of range rather than a guarantee. Leafly's listing also notes that Verdi stocks Puffco devices and Studenglass, plus a few houseplant items.
If you are still learning how the categories differ, our explainer on vapes vs. flower vs. concentrates is a quick primer, and the edible dosing guide is worth reading before trying gummies or honey for the first time.
Delivery, hours and the Park Slope sibling
Verdi launched delivery on April 1, 2024, initially covering Manhattan south of 125th Street, and its website now advertises free delivery. There is also a Verdi VIP loyalty membership with member offers and event invitations, plus a specials page.
As of October 2026, Verdi lists Chelsea hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Third-party listings have shown slightly different weekday opening times, so call 646-850-0087 if you are planning an early stop. Leafly lists cash, debit and bank transfer as accepted payment.
The family has also expanded across the river. Verdi's site lists a second store at 360 7th Avenue in Park Slope, between 10th and 11th Streets, with its own hours and phone line. For Chelsea shoppers, the practical upshot is that the brand now has a little more buying scale behind it.
How Verdi stacks up against Chelsea's newer shops
Verdi's main neighborhood competition is Chelsea Cannabis Co. at 104 Seventh Avenue, several blocks south and west. That shop stays open until 2 a.m. and leans into effect-based dosing guidance, while Verdi closes at 10 p.m. and leans into events and community ties. If you want a late-night pickup, the newer shop has the edge on hours; if you would rather buy from a family-run store that hosts a free show on Thursdays, Verdi is the obvious pick. Both are licensed, and this week's Chelsea promotions are collected on our deals tracker.
On public review sites, Verdi's feedback is consistently positive. Its Leafly page showed a 5.0 rating from a small pool of reviews at the time of writing, with reviewers repeatedly mentioning a clean, welcoming space, personable and knowledgeable staff, and quick in-and-out service. The sample is small, so read it as a signal rather than a verdict.
Before the doors opened
Verdi's arrival was not a surprise to the block. Manhattan Community Board 4, which covers Chelsea, reviewed the application in 2023 and sent a letter to the Office of Cannabis Management about the proposed dispensary at 158 West 23rd Street, part of the standard local-notice process for new cannabis retailers. Chelsea Community News reported that cannabis attorney and longtime legalization activist Jeffrey Hoffman was involved with the project, and that a general manager who also handled buying was in place from day one. Early hours were shorter than today's, running into the evening on weekdays and later on Fridays and Saturdays, before settling into the current 10 p.m. close.
That gradual build-out shows in how the shop has added services one at a time: delivery a few months after opening, the music series that summer, then the VIP program and a second store in Brooklyn. First-time customers need photo ID proving they are at least 21, should plan on cash or debit, and if you want to catch a Green Room set, aim for a Thursday evening rather than a weekend afternoon.
Who should make the trip
Verdi is a strong fit for Chelsea and Flatiron residents who want a dependable neighborhood shop, for anyone who likes the idea of catching live music where they buy, and for first-time buyers who want staff willing to slow down and explain. Getting there is simple: the shop sits between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, a short walk from the 23rd Street stations on the F/M and the 1 lines. If you are shopping around, our Manhattan dispensary rankings and the searchable shop finder cover the rest of the borough. Visit the shop's own site at verdicannabis.com for the current menu and event calendar.