SWEETGRASS BOTANICALS, MASSACHUSETTS

This project is very near and dear to our hearts. In the mid 90’s, Val opened a bakery in Tivoli, NY. First she had to learn to bake. Enter Cassandra Purdy. Cass was a sophomore at nearby Vassar college. Despite her age, she was an accomplished baker. She is the daughter of the well known cookbook author Susan Purdy. 

Cass was striking, with huge blue eyes and fire red hair past her hips. Still skeptical of this chick, Val said “Well then…go bake me a croissant” she whipped right back into the bakery kitchen and came back in record time with a tray of hot delicious ‘croissant’ looking things. She used a short cut, Val didn’t yet know that croissants take six hours to bake. What she did get right at that time was the warm and welcoming decor of the bakery (check out the Cafe Pongo Cookbook in our SHOP). Cass went on to fine tune her baking skills to include cannabis. 

She lived back and forth between the states and Paris for over a decade, where she did book translations for an independant French publishing company she helped found. Back in the states she started her own catering company and mobile pizza oven business, wrote for High Times Magazine and started teaching about cannabis at a local herbalism school, and she traveled many winters to India. Now she has landed back home. 

Sweetgrass Botanicals, already an award-winning dispensary, is her baby and she has created something truly reflecting her spirit, character and beauty. We love you Cass. We’re deeply honored to have been a part of bringing this place into the world. Every inch is pure you.