Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Dougherty.
Heather, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I first went vegetarian when I was 8 after watching a clip of a slaughterhouse video in science class. After reading about how cheese was made at age 14 I went vegan. I’ve been going strong for 20 years now and its always been about the animals. I had always wanted to open a vegan cafe of sorts and was finally given the chance to do so. The Sweet Beet is now going into its fifth year of business.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been a slightly bumpy road. Going into business without any prior experience has been a challenge. I have found that each day is a new learning experience and you really can only take it one day at a time while trying to look forward and stay positive.
The Sweet Beet – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a 100% vegan, gluten free, soy free, peanut free, non-go/ organic grab n’ go/market located in northern Connecticut. We have fresh pressed juices, salads, sandwiches, and hot soup and chili. We have a cooler case filled with prepared grab n’ go style eats and a variety of baked goods, including our mini cupcakes known as Sweeties. Customer favorites include our Chickpea of the Sea Sandwich (our take on tuna salad made with chickpeas and sea vegetables), Rutabaga Lasagna (our grain free lasagna made with rutabaga noodles, house made hemp ricotta, spinach, pesto and tomato), and our Mexican Hot Chocolate Sweetie (spiced chocolate beet cake topped with vanilla buttercream, chocolate drizzle, and a dash of cinnamon). We also have a curated selection of grocery items that are hard to find in our area. I think we are a very unique business.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I think just experiencing when people walk in and get excited to be able to eat anything in the Beet that fits in with their lifestyle or seeing the smile on a child’s face that suffers from allergies, when their parent tells them they can pick a cupcake from the case.
Contact Info:
- Address: 498 Salmon Brook st
Granby, CT 06035 - Website: https://www.thesweetbeet.net
- Phone: 860 653 2338
- Email: thesweetbeetllc@gmail.com
- Instagram: thesweetbeet
- Facebook: The Sweet Beet LLC
- Twitter: thesweetbeetllc
Image Credit:
Heather Dougherty
Eva Pockoski
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
BRITTANY GUERRA
February 28, 2018 at 6:20 pm
Heather and the Sweet Beet are fantastic! We are so lucky to have them here in CT!
Justin Avery
March 2, 2018 at 12:49 am
I have four children who are vegetarian and dairy free and one is also gluten free and one egg free. My wife is vegetarian. And then there is me who eats everything. We all love the food at sweet beat and the kids can choose anything they want to. I think it’s the only place we eat where all of that is true.