Latest / Ready To Drink Podcast / Dogwood Hops & Crops Owner Kate Hansen on Hemp Beverages, NC Regulation & Funding Schools | RegulateDontRuinNC.com

Transcript

Dogwood Hops & Crops Owner Kate Hansen on Hemp Beverages, NC Regulation & Funding Schools | RegulateDontRuinNC.com · Ready To Drink Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Kate Hansen.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: I own Dogwood, Hops, and Crops and Trophy Room Bourbon Bar here in Winston-Salem.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, a little bit of backstory on me is I grew up in California.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I moved to Arizona in high school.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: I lived in Colorado for a bit.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um in a past life, I was actually an insurance agent for about four years until my husband's job moved us to Savannah where I left insurance and I started bartending.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent, excellent.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: So uh what when did uh you go from Savannah up to North Carolina then?
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Was that for another uh jobs or anything like that?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: No, so we just moved to like to North Carolina about three years ago.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: We just had this itch to just go somewhere new.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we had three years, like three little kids, and I was like, let's just go on an adventure.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually moved to Winston-Salem without even like seeing the city or visiting it.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We were just like, he took a job and we were all in.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And now we love it, and I never want to leave.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: That is awesome.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: That is awesome.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, talk to me, talk to me about the business and give everybody that's not in North Carolina, but also in North Carolina that hasn't been there kind of a the layout.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if I was to walk in, what what do you see?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: What types of customers and what's the environment like at your place?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we get like a bunch of different customers.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're right near like the arts district.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean, we really get all age brackets when college is back in.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: We see like a lot of weight kids, but a lot of people that we see are just like regulars, people that live nearby happen to walk in.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think regulars are like a lot of our business, and then also just college students, as well as on trophy room.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like more of an older clientele looking for like an upscale drink, a nicer bourbon.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I actually started in like this little hidden speakeasy in Savannah, and used to like have to walk down this alleyway and find a secret door.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then there was a light switch, and you had to like know the password to get in, which changed every single week.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And when I was working there, I learned about 70 different like classic cocktails, and it was just like a really unique experience.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: They had like an amazing singer every night, and it was a whole vibe.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So when I saw trophy room, I was like, this is super cool.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I actually sorry, I gave ahead of myself, but no, I like we moved out here and I was actually being the stay-at-home mom for like the first year, just trying to like get my bearings, new town, three kids settling in.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my son was starting in first grade, and so I was really active in the school, just volunteering in his class a lot.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: I had a lot of free time on my hands, and I got convinced to restart his PTO at his Title I elementary school.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm also actually the PTO president of my kids' school going into three years now.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent, excellent.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, you also and you said three kids, but you undersold the fact of what ages they all were.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: You really, you guys really packed them all up and went with it.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: That is Yeah.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: I have four kids myself.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: I can't even imagine uh picking up and moving with three kids that age.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Kudos to you guys.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was doing the whole bar thing, and then we were just like, you know what, let's pack it up and move.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: My daughter Murphy, she's four years old.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Then we have Bennett, he's six, Jackson is nine, and it's we live a whirlwind of a life.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Very nice.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, talk to me.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm not I'm not um from that area and I have not been to to Dogwood Hops and Crops.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Is this so this to describe everybody like what the concept is and and uh yeah.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I actually, when I first moved out here, I started out on the opening team for Mercantile Chop House.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And while I was working there, I met Adam Andrews.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's like locally famous and renowned for all his restaurants.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I just told him about how I had always dreamed about opening my own like craft beer bar with a speakeasy vibe upstairs because like I loved my like roots of starting out in a speakeasy.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And he was like, Have you not been to Dogwood and Trophy room?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, No, like I have three kids.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not like downtown drinking at the bars every night.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So a couple of days later, he took me down to Dogwood and Trophy.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Oh, cool, man, like you own my dream.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, darn.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And he looked at me and he was like, Yeah, do you want to buy it?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Are you serious?
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, he's like, the bars have been open since 2017, but I've only actually owned them for about a year now.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so literally two months later, the bars were mine and I was in complete shock.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, Dogwood is just like your chill neighborhood hangout spot.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: We have three coolers, we carry over 315 beers, we have 14 taps since purchasing the bar.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: I added liquor on that side.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: We have seasonal cocktails, we do like different game nights.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like we've started at Music Bingo.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: My husband is running this like insanely cool trivia night on Wednesdays that has just popped off.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's always changing it.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like tomorrow is poker run trivia.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And he has these like wild ideas, and people just come to hang out, watch sports games.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's really just like a community feel with a ton of options at like hands reach, arm's reach.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: But then um on the other side, so it's like kind of it's one business, but it's like split concept.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So then you can go through a separate door and then you're in trophy room.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I always like to describe trophy room as Dogwood's classy older sister because that's the side that has like 200 plus bourbons.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: We have a really cool locker program.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So we have over 144, I believe, lockers.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: So like people can come in basically, they go onto a wait list, and some of these people hold onto their lockers for years.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: And they basically pay a$100 fee one time, and then they get to put whatever name they want on their nameplate, and then they purchase bottles through our bar by the poor.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so then the locker like holds their bottles, and whenever they come in, the bartender will pull out their bottle, mix them a drink, the mixers are on the house, and then they just get their drink to their bartender.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's really just like a classy upscale feel, and I love that it still had like the private members vibe to it.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um you guys do like music in there and stuff?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: We do so on Dogwood.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: We have a band that comes one Sunday a month, and then we are starting to do jazz on trophy, and so I'm really excited for that.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we actually even have a live violinist that comes one Thursday a month, and so Jorge's amazing, and he kills it every time.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: But no, we have so much fun on both sides.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Describe um the the Winston area as far as uh the greater community and everything like that for the audience as well.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: The greater community in Winston, it's very diverse, I would say is the best way to put it.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's a whole mix of everything.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like I don't know how else to put it rather than.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is a good melting pot of people.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And like everybody has been so kind and welcoming to us coming downtown.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like just Liberty Street alone, like I love our community.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: We have Salem Organics, which is right next door to us, and like Chris and Tania and Ryan are absolutely wonderful.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: We have Twisted Pine, which is owned by Adam Andrews right up the street, like best lunch food ever.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And they actually deliver food down to our bars so you can enjoy it and still keep drinking and hanging out.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're having a lot of fun, and it's I feel like I'm just surrounded by the best people.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: When you how how uh I don't mean to date you as far as this goes, as far as age goes, but how how old were you when you got into the bartending aspect of things in life?
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, so I was young.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've been in the service industry now for 10 years.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: So when we moved to Savannah, Georgia, I was actually just sitting at the Secret Speakeasy that my friend got us into one night, and the bartender was just like, you need to work here.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I've always wanted to be a bartender.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so she just gave me a shot and gave me a job on the spot, and she taught me everything.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like I had to know 70 classic prohibition cocktails by heart, and like it was not for the faint of heart, but like I owe everything to Emma because she really, yeah, she showed me everything.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: I always tell people in the in my experience in the bartending side of things, I'm a I'm a really awesome beer pourer and I'm a really awesome bartender from the therapy and psychology standpoint, but I I could never remember the cocktail breakdowns.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: I was constantly grabbing the book under the top and everything like that.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And it was like, and it was the same thing in high school, like playing football and stuff like that.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: I could never remember the playbook.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: I get so immersed into the present moment that I just can't retain everything.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm always impressed when when I meet bartenders like yourselves that that just are a mental Rolodex of everything that anybody could walk up and order.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm also a firm believer in cheat sheets.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, like we change our menus seasonally and especially on trophy room, like the drinks are so complex.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so, I mean, the customers can't see it, but trust me, there are little hidden laminated cards right behind the bar in case anybody just blinks in a moment.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's like we got you.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's okay.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: When I used to do uh weddings for this catering company years, many, many years ago, I went like kind of like a football player, like I had the sweatband and then I had the thing inside of the sweatband.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, even no matter where I was, I I constantly wouldn't be, I didn't want to ever be far away from the cheat sheet, so I attached it to myself.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good idea.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: I used to do similar, but I'd have everything on me and overalls.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, nice, nice.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's even better.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: I should have done that because I overall.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm like bar key, wine key, like got it all.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let me let me just compliment you and congratulate you on on you, you that is the American dream of anybody in the hospitality industry that truly loves being a bartender.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Is one day they always want, I mean, not always, but a lot of them have that aspiration and that pipe dream, but you went up and got it.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm already gonna guess where this is gonna go as far as I ask you from 10 years how has the drinking of the consumer changed since you were bartending in Savannah to today?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to lead that right into what we're here to talk about, which is hemp beverages and how that category in the past couple of years has really also changed the way the consumer drinks and enjoys themselves out in public.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: So when I was in Savannah, I went from craft cocktails and actually like bars in Savannah close at three in the morning.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I wasn't getting home until like five to six in the morning some nights.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then I had a baby at home and my husband would go to work, and I was like, these hours are not sustainable.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: So actually, after a really long time, I was like, I want to see all sides of the service industry.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I switched and I worked at like the diveyest bar.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like they still allowed smoking inside.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: It was super beer heavy.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: So like I tried to really immerse myself in everything.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: But then when I came to North Carolina, that's actually what introduced me to hemp-derived THC beverages.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like I hadn't even seen those until I bought dogwood.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And now we carry over 40 plus beverages, as well as like have a THC draft, gummies, candies.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: So like it's really crazy just to see how everything has changed.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I lived in Arizona during cannabis legalization.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I lived in Colorado after legalization.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, North Carolina is the first place that I really came across the beverages.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And we also do like a THC cocktail menu just using like nowadays in Palmos, like 10 milligrams.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: But like it's changed a lot.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I would say like total of dogwood sales is probably like 10% THC, like hemp derived cannabis drinks.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: I um that that tracks because uh I did a survey with about 100 retailers in New Jersey in the off-premise, so strictly in the liquor store system, and they were anywhere between 25 and 30% of their revenue.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then um on an episode the other week, uh Tony over at AB Bottleco in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, he said it was 35% of his business out on the beach side of things.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: My gosh.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: And he actually to the point where he was like, he's nervous, like if things go through, he's not sure if he'll be able to recover from that that prop up that he's being using with that.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many businesses that are on the line, and I just can't even imagine being in their shoes.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm friends with the owner of Carolina Bus out in Salisbury, and I'm like, her business could just disappear overnight.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's terrifying, especially when it's something that like people rely on so much.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because what I'm always looking at is that I don't think people are really looking to replace alcohol with cannabis, but they're off they're just looking for another option.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like most of our customers that are coming in are telling me that they're buying them, usually for like to go because it's giving them better sleep.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: They're not having any hangovers, they're social drinkers, some just don't drink alcohol anymore.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Some just want to mix it up in different options.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, one bar I was working at in Georgia, we were always laughing because I had this regular who would come and rip two shots of fireball, and then he would want to pace himself.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so he would just drink NA beers the rest of the day.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, who are we to judge how somebody wants to live their life?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think in the in the UK, I think in uh maybe it's UK and Australia.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they started a couple years ago calling that zebra drinking when you when you switch.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's funny.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you go hard and then not NA's and you just alternate all night long.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was like every few hours he'd be like, all right, I'm ready for more fireball.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: I know, I think it yeah, but I just think it helps like a lot of people that are maybe like California sober curious, like during dry January.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: I would say like our NA and our like hemp drive beverage sales go through the roof.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it also depends on the time of year.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: It just really depends.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, personally, though, we have so many THC cocktails and they sell really well and like people are enjoying them.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: Talk a little bit about, you know, I I appreciate that you do the the the infused cocktails part because that's one thing is selling this product in a 12-ounce can and everything like that, but it's a whole nother thing to give the actual cocktail experience to the consumer.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Let's debunk a little myths here.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like uh, like what are some myths?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like everybody, I I when I talk to some bartenders that are not as engrased in this or bar owners, they'll be like, Well, I don't know, I don't want everybody to you know start getting all high and falling asleep or you know, driving their car.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like, talk a little bit about what that consumer is.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you said it they're sometimes they're non-drinkers, sometimes they are drinkers, but we're not talking about a bunch of stoners that are sitting around like wasting time and money and all Oh, yeah.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: And like most of our clients, like I said, they usually live also within like walking distance of our bar.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: So like if they're taking anything hard, like if we have drinks that go all the way from three milligrams to 50 milligrams, it's just depending on like what you are wanting to drink and where your tolerance is at.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I would say most of them are just trying to relax.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like I see people just drinking them and they're telling me it takes like an hour to two hours before the effects even really hit them.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's just like a calm and more peaceful mindset of thinking.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, if it's like helping you relax and like sleep better and you're not over here like getting crazy and thrown out of bars get like from being so drunk, I think it's a pretty good sign.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly that that's exactly my my point too, is like I um it's also I think uh it's bringing in incremental audience at a time when that's really needed in the on-premise.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: I would agree.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have to educate your consumers at all, or are these consumers naturally coming in for this stuff, or is it really are some people still coming and be like, I want to try it, but I'm not sure, you know?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Some we've probably had maybe only like one or two people who've been like, Oh, I want to try this.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not really sure.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: We actually had like a mom come in with all of her kids that were college-aged, and they were like, We've been trying to get her to try this for years, like today's the day, mom.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Hey, I'm here to support it.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, let's go, mom, let's have some fun.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so, I mean, it's really rare.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Most people that are coming in know what they're getting, they know what they're buying, they know what they need.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's nothing unheard of to them.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: When um did you ever 10 years ago think that I mean you traveled, you were in Arizona, you were in Colorado, but I think even in those states, especially in I think Colorado is the same where it's not the same as North Carolina, the way hemp beverages are able to be accessed.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: So did that kind of change the landscape with specifically what what was accessible in North Carolina?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: So when I was in Colorado, hemp beverages didn't even exist.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like this was 12, 11, 12, 13 years ago.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was a long time ago, another lifetime.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, but I mean when I was in Colorado, it was legalized already for a really long time.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And personally, I think North Carolina can learn a lot from the way that they've handled things and also look at different policies in different places and compare and really have a good idea.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Did you ever think when you got into the bar business, even as a bartender or bar owner, you'd be doing advocacy work and speaking to lawmakers and and and defending your business and your industry in a sense?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: I would say no, but I would also say I'm not really surprised because I tend to be really opinionated about a lot of different things.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's all whether you're the type of people we need in our corner, so I love it.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: No, most people are honestly just shocked when they hear that I'm like a PTO president at a school and then I own two bars, and they're like, You own bars and you're a PTO president.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Yeah, I live a weird life.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's fine.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're doing great.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you a funny story.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, like, like uh being in this business, though, I have a the the alcohol industry has changed a lot, and it was a lot of partying before, and it's not so much that anymore.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: And and I've seen the evolution, but I'll tell you a funny story about being a parent in this industry.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh as a sales rep, my one of my uh one of my other sales reps that was on, he tells this story that he loves it.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: He was going to uh drop his kid off at at daycare in the morning, and then there was a one of his accounts was across the street.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and he ends up going at like 9 a.m.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: and dropping off his kid and then walking across the street to make a sales call.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then at the end of the day, they uh they were like looking at him all weird when he was coming to like pick up the kid his daughter at the end of the day, and they're like, Well, we'd like to talk to you for a little bit.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: And you they pull him in the office, and they're like, Well, one of our staff saw you drive across the street and go to the bar at 9 a.m.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: And now you're coming over, and he actually, by coincidence, so they're watching him, and that day just happened to be the day that he was doing a double stop where he was stopping in to say hi and do something, but he also needed to drop off something that hadn't been ready yet from the point of sale room.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: So he he was like, Well, I'm just gonna double back later when I pick up my daughter at daycare.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so that the person, the nosy person in the staff was like, Okay, he was there in the morning and he's there, he's been drinking for eight hours a day, and then he comes in and he has he doesn't reek of alcohol at all.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: So they were just so confused.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I tell that story jokingly because so only those of us in the industry can understand that from the outside, sometimes it looks crazy what we're doing when we're trying to be efficient and how we operate our lives.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: So kudos to you on the PTO, as well as doing the bars, because we need to normalize that to the world and realize that just because we own bars and just because we work in the industry doesn't mean we're all a bunch of lushes sitting around all day long being irresponsible, you know.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's uh you know, yeah, go ahead.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: No, you're fine.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: I was just gonna say, because yeah, like to me, it's like I love being a bar owner, but also like just protecting the kids is also like one of my biggest priorities.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that's also a reason why like regulation matters to me so much, because like you think about how like illegal markets don't check IDs, illegal markets aren't like testing products, they're not labeling products, like regulation creates safeguards.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if anything, I think regulating for cannabis is a positive thing and not a negative thing.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and even from the self-regulation that's been happening with those that are following everything to the T of the self-regulation that's been going on, it's ironic that it is the most transparent product on the shelf in the cons in the beverage side.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we really it really is.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like I love the alcohol industry and I work in it and love it and brands in there, but you know, you don't have nutrition facts on every single can.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have uh COAs that show you any heavy metals or bacteria or anything like that.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we in the alcohol side, we put a lot of trust into these manufacturers that every batch is to the highest quality and everything kind of goes.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we it's again, it's a it's an unspoken honesty code that goes through.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, it's it this for me, it saddens me as well because these brands went above and beyond to pay extra money for batches and and COAs, pay extra money for all that other stuff, you know, take away the advertising opportunity on those cans and put in the nutrition facts, even though they didn't necessarily have to, they were doing it to to show a point that they were willing to do it to be regulated to survive and to and to thrive in the in that their American dream, which was to make this category grow.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: So it's uh I find it very uh disturbing and and fascinating all at the same time.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, not to mention it's also like when you go into a dispensary to like purchase something, you know that those are in like childproof cases.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's not just like I mean, adults are using cannabis either way.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: So would you rather have your kid find like a protected baggie that they can't even get open, or like some dime bag that you just picked up from your a dude down the street, you know what I mean?
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: No, exactly.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's um it's interesting too when you uh the hemp beverage alliance talks about this a lot, is um, and this is not to disparage the gummies or the flour, but specifically speaking of beverages, you know, there's zero cases of anything happening with beverages.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because it most of the beverages are in age-gated aspects.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: They are in in bars, they are in in different places that people are used to age gating, they're used to watching, you know, to make sure nobody's too messed up when they're coming in or drunk or or too high in purchasing products.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's something I think that a lot of people forget about in our industry too.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: We have an obligation from a regulatory uh licensing standpoint, as well as our own responsibilities, to not overserve people in bars.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: So to think to make sense to pee in those places because we are acutely trained already to know when somebody's acting a little bit out of out of character, whether it's through walking or different speech um uh speeches that they're given the way they're talking to people.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, uh for me it makes sense for it not to for it to be where it is right now in North Carolina, and it makes sense for it to be able to thrive in there because it's just it fits perfectly.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's it's a it's a it's a square peg, square hole scenario for me, the way you guys have things set up.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and I hope everybody hops on regulate don't ruin nc.com and signs the petition uh because that's the number one thing that we need right now.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: So speak a little bit about Kate, you know, in your advocacy work and in your opinions.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you and I very much seem like we're both very opinionated people and I I I respect that and it it it makes me happy.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: At the same time I want you to tell everybody how we need them to get off the couch right now and and grab their phones and when they're doom scrolling hop on regulate don't ruin nc.com and sign the petition because their voice matters and and letting people know that even just your one your one voice inside of this petition really matters to make these lawmakers see that their community and the people that vote for them care about these products and care about businesses like yours who service these products.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly and I mean I think it's really important to also see that like the businesses that support these products are not just like the only businesses that are being affected.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like when I think about a small business it's a lot more than just dispensaries.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like small businesses are what are supporting little leagues they're donating to schools they're supporting nonprofits in the arts they're employing your neighbors and legal industries create ecosystems like not just dispensaries.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm always thinking farmers like the labs doing the testing like construction HVAC companies insurance marketing accountants attorneys like security retail distributors like every business creates a ripple effect.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: So like when you're trying to take away one thing you're really hurting small businesses across the board absolutely and last time I checked we live in in the United States of America where that is business is the American dream and being an entrepreneur is the American dream and and we should be able to allow when it's properly regulated it should be a green light go and it shouldn't be these challenges that we're seeing here.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: So um kind of in closing here I want to kind of anything else that you want to touch on as far as uh promoting or anything like that with you.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: So a big part to me is like helping out in my kids' schools actually really changed my perspective because like I'm not sitting here every day thinking like how can I sell more THC beverages?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like in reality I spend my days thinking about how I'm going to pay for like another teacher appreciation week trying to afford like classroom needs and supplies, playground improvements, student programs, grants, fundraising.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: So like for my school personally in 2023 and 2024 alone we lost our COVID funding it completely disappeared and our school lost almost$44,000.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: Last year alone our school only received$210,000 in Title I funding and that's a number that seems to get smaller and smaller every year.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: And people don't realize that like Title I funding pays for so many things in public education.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like that is what paying to like it pays to like regulate class sizes.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's what's paying the TAs, tutors, instructional supplies, student programs it pays for our copier costs and our paper and like so much more.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: So our school alone, we have over 500 students and I'm actually currently preparing for our incoming kindergartners and it's exploded.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: We have 89 incoming kindergartners this year and I'm like where are they going to go?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because all of our kindergarten classes have to have a TA.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: So because of budgeting restrictions we've had to pull TAs from other grades because we don't have enough for kindergarten otherwise the funding just isn't there.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like once upon a time our schools used to be able to better support their classrooms and now our PTO fund like runs so many fundraisers just to be able to assist them with getting the bare minimum supplies met.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it's amazing to see all of our local small businesses step up and help.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: But frankly I don't think it's their responsibility at the same time but it hurts me when I'm seeing like teachers having to spend their own money.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: We're fundraising businesses are donating but like we need help.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think it's important to be looking at other states like Colorado.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like look at how Colorado's been doing the cannabis industry for years.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like in 20 I believe it was 25, yeah, 2025 and 2026 alone Colorado put 83 point three million dollars into their K through 12 public schools.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's crazy to me.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean that like that funding represents 33.3% of the state's total cannabis tax revenue distributions for the whole year.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's mind boggling.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like Colorado splits their cannabis tax revenue across different like funding channels.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it was about like 39 million was specifically put into building excellent schools which just financed like replacing building and repairing school facilities and then the remaining like 20 million went to day-to-day public school finances and the state's structural public school fund.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like I'm not saying copy Colorado, but I'm saying we could definitely learn from Colorado like look at them and be like what's worked what didn't work you can look at states like California, Arizona and be like, what are they doing differently?
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: How could North Carolina implement some of these policies and also better everything around us for our future generations and the kids like personally our school has been open since 2012.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's been no major improvements to our playground until last year we our PTO saved up we were able to put in a gaga ball pit.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now our PTO has raised$5000 to put in a new playground but the real goal is closer to$135000 once it's installed and I can only get the county to agree to install the mulch.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like why doesn't like why is the state and the county and everybody not able to financially better support our schools so it blows my mind when people are like against things like this because I see Colorado funding education.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I naturally am gonna ask like is this worth discussing is this worth looking at like overall I think it was Colorado had done like over three billion tax revenue since legalization in public schools.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Crazy it's it's the part that isn't talked about and I really appreciate you coming on and talking about that because of your perspective being so unique working with the PTO that a lot of times the hemp industry and cannabis at large is villainized because of the reefer madness and everything else that that people have been indoctrinated into.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: But in actuality it's it's it is it's doing great things.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: I've spent a lot of time in Colorado when when recreational came as well as in 2018 doing research to begin to get into the gummies and flour and everything like that.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I was blown away to hear the same numbers and and also I believe like West Virginia as well was having the same thing and West Virginia I believe was having the same issue where their issue was even different where they were raising the money they had millions I mean I feel I want to say tens of millions of dollars or something like that that was coming off of the hemp and and and the medical marijuana industry and the hemp industry and they was just sitting in in a in a bank account and they had they couldn't even decide on the distribution vest or avenues for it because people were fighting about which special projects they wanted it for when like it just it does make sense to me.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's for education.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean it's like it's let's let's completely destigmatize this entire thing and be like the money can serve a good cause like it doesn't I mean if yeah they can go into it with a solid plan and they can get people on board to be like wow this is going to bring in so many tax dollars this could really help our state like another state is Virginia.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean Virginia just legalized recreational cannabis to start next year.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean do we really think that like adults who are already consuming cannabis just because they make it like illegal or hard to get do you really think they're gonna stop using it?
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm sorry but I'm sure tons of North Carolinans are just going to cross state lines.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: So like my question is why are we just going to send Virginia all of our jobs taxes all of the growth and all we're gonna be doing is supporting the small businesses in Virginia instead of keeping that money right at home in our own state you're uh you're exactly right there is um we we call in Pennsylvania we have these comments about uh because of the way the uh the state runs the alcohol and the and the spirits and wine runs the liquor stores in Pennsylvania we call them border or uh border jumping which is basically where we are right now with the hemp beverages in Pennsylvania too we're in an island like so Jersey it's it's legal Ohio now it's legal you know Maryland it's legal in certain pockets Virginia it's legal and then Pennsylvania is just sitting here still uh twiddling their thumbs so not everybody's as advanced as as North Carolina and that's even more the reason for everybody to get out and support.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um I want to remind everybody as well that you know just because you're not a consumer of hemp beverages this bill does affect you because this bill affects your neighbor uh this your neighbor is somebody most likely if you live in a development of you know a dozen or more people most likely there's a couple houses that are consumers probably for recreational and enjoying their lives but there's my probably some like some testimonials I've read on here before that are using it to s to maybe not take as many pills for their pain.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe they don't drink the you know three bottles of wine before they go to bed because that's the only way they can put their head on the pillow.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't like to say that in humor.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean I was one of those people and I say that because from my own life hemp beverages helped me uh get through that period and get into my sobriety and get through the first year.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's one of those things where I am uh I'm literally living proof that uh when my my life was going off the rails at certain points hemp beverages and and non-alcoholic beer when it started finally tasting good uh kudos to athletic and brew dog for that um got me athletic is the best got me through my first year very nicely so I appreciate you coming on Kate I really I really enjoyed this conversation and I really enjoyed I do too thank you so much for having me and one thing I always like to leave people with is like a big question that I get asked all the time is people are like are you pro-cannabis and I always like to tell them you know what I'm pro reasonable policy.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: That is the best statement I think that's a perfect thing to end on right there.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so everybody I want to remind everybody Kate thank you so much for coming on and literally I need to also thank you because there's no script and there's no agenda.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: We've never met and I want to remind the audience we've never I've never been to your bar I will be going to your bar next time I'm down in North Carolina saying we appreciate that I have I have a goal to meet all of my past guests in person in the next 12 to 24 months whenever that fits in my travel schedule but I really want to thank you for the courage.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: It is a very courageous thing to come on a podcast that's going to be recorded without questions and without any sort of script at all.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have one you don't have one this is a this is a conversation from a place of passion.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: And whether your passion is for raising funds for for local education or your passion is for running your business because that's what you pay your bills with because that's the life you chose either way this issue affects so many people and it's a ripple that goes like you just said it goes out into the entire supply chain from consumers to the hops manufacturer excuse me the the uh hemp manufacturers to the emulsions to the truck drivers to the people that are doing cleanup and the recycling plan.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean anybody anybody and everybody gets affected with this so it builds jobs and it supports schools.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly yeah and you yeah you tell me if I was a lawmaker that that sells me and you tell you you you open with that tell me what to sign where to sign.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: But I want to remind everybody as you're going out there our challenge five minutes of kindness to a stranger every week this is the ready to drink podcast we talk about ROIs we talk about business we talk about beverage brands and that's all fun but at the end of the day this show is unscripted and unagended because we are doing this for the human connection and in 2026 this world is a beautifully destructive place especially here and we want everybody to remember that just because you have the wife the husband the picket fence the dog and everything that doesn't mean your neighbor feels the same way.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I want everybody when you're walking down the street look everybody in the eye put your phone in your pocket when you're on the sidewalk.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: When you're at the gas station filling up that cup of coffee look to the person next to you ask them how they're doing and actually shut your mouth and listen to their story and focus on them.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: Five minutes a week of kindness to a stranger I tell you what with the amount of people that listen to the show if everybody just gave 20 minutes a month or excuse me five minutes a week 20 minutes a month my maths off today.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that that will get everybody going and I really want to push more positivity out there.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: So Kate, thank you again so much for coming on today and supporting the cause that we're running through with regulate don't ruin nc.com thank you so much for having me and please everybody go out to regulate don't ruin dot nc.com and like cast your vote on there because every voice matters in this and like support local support your small businesses like support your schools your neighbors your friends and make good choices.