After 20 years in corporate America, Erin Kelly decided she would turn a setback into a life changing career move. Now, she is living her dream: selling delicious cannabis gummies and bakery items at Kelly’s Greens Cannabis Boutique and Grand Cafe. Working closely with Wisconsin organic hemp farms to obtain premium hemp, Kelly then hand-extracts and transforms it into small-batch, handcrafted full-spectrum CBD treats. Kelly explains how her special items bring comfort and joy to both the local community and nationwide customers.
What inspired you to get into foodservice?
“During the pandemic, my position was eliminated while I was on my Christmas vacation. I decided I was no longer interested in the bureaucratic boardroom and wanted to pursue my passion for baking with cannabis. I went back to school for cannabis, fine-tuned my baking skills at [Niemann’s Candies], a 100-year-old family candy store, and here we are. Dreams do come true.”
What do you love about your business?
“One of the best parts of our shop is being part of the community. We meet loads of different people from all walks of life that are looking for relief with our cannabis treats. It is so nice to connect to people who live right in my neighborhood. As a woman-owned business, we love inviting other small business owners to pop-up in our shop. We’ll never forget all of the love and support we received to get where we are now. It really is all about the little things.”
What’s the most interesting thing to happen to your business?
“The most interesting thing that has ever happened to our business was the grant that we received that allowed us to buy brand-new kitchen equipment with warranties! Our original budget had us buying used commercial kitchen equipment with no warranties; I had visions of the dreaded U-Haul situation with me moving used appliances. Instead, we were able to get NEW equipment. Swoon.”
What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
“The biggest challenge with the business we have had to overcome is lack of storage. Our brick and mortar cannabis cafe and boutique is in a tiny 1,600 sq. ft. building with no basement. We had struggled to maximize our space before Cambro. Our kitchen buildout did not include any shelving, and we struggled to stay organized.”
Which Cambro products help make your business work?
“We love our brand-new Elevation Series Wall Unit. It was super easy to put together, and has made a huge difference in our tiny little shop. We now have a dedicated packaging area that has sped up our ship times and now we always know where the scissors are–ha! 
The shelves above are great for storing our gummy jars and the pegboard wall is the best for all of our accessories; we love that it’s customizable. We also converted all our non-NSF residential food storage products to Cambro Food Pans for storing all of our baked goods. This also helped us maximize space in our already crowded refrigeration equipment.”
About Kelly’s Greens
Location: Wauwatosa, Wis.
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