Two sisters, a farm and a great idea: A cocktail bar and soda shop in one

The secret, they say, is in the syrup.

Venise Cunningham started as a garlic grower but now produces dozens of herbs, fruits and vegetables on her 10-acre farm, also her family’s home, in Buckley, Washington. Her younger sister, Belinda Kelly, is a bartender. She, too, left the corporate tech world to open her own business: a mobile cocktail bar in a renovated trailer (which she just sold to an Olympia-based entrepreneur).

Together they are Simple Goodness Sisters, in life and in business.

Since 2017, their line of ready-to-use cocktail syrups — featuring, for instance, rhubarb, sage, mint and basil grown on Cunningham’s farm — transformed what Kelly could shake up at events around the Puget Sound. Otherwise, those in the know could order bottles for their home bar, a versatile ingredient to mix impressive drinks without the hassle of stocking a slew of liqueurs with an expiration.

Now we’re all invited to the family party at the Simple Goodness Sisters Soda Shop, which, like its home in Wilkeson, a pocket-sized town nestled into the foothills of Mount Rainier, is so much more than that.

Consider it “the booziest ice cream shop or the most family friendly bar,” said Cunningham.

“The soda shop is about showcasing all of our products in a fun, nostalgic, but kind of modern menu,” said Kelly in May, from fountain classics to cocktails.

Those quaffable treats translate to waffles on a stick dipped in Blueberry Lavender, Tillamook ice cream sodas with Marionberry Mint, a nonalcoholic tonic with Lemon Herb, a Greyhound with Rhubarb Vanilla and Heritage Distilling vodka, one of three draft cocktails also available as a flight. Stirred or shaken to order drinks crafted by Kelly riff on classics, like the Bourbon Sour with Lemon Herb syrup and the Gin Fizz, aptly made with Rainier Gin and a limited-edition Huckleberry Spruce Tip syrup.

Guests are encouraged to explore the myriad treats made possible by the flagship products. A $3 housemade soda (add cream for $0.50) is an easy refreshment for kids and adults alike, as is the $3.50 steamer or a more complex $6 mocktail.

A menu of paninis ($7-$10) likewise harnesses a homegrown element from the farm: tomato jam and pesto with tomatoes on sourdough, chimichurri with roast beef, pickled peppers with seasonal vegetables. Charcuterie boards ($12-$20) with Beecher’s cheddar, Cypress Grove goat cheese, Olli salami and house-spiced nuts offer a grazing option.

A WORKING COCKTAIL FARM

The concept, both as a product and as an experience, hinges on preservation.

“One of my biggest goals as a farmer,” said Cunningham, who quit growing garlic and coerced her sister to use her herbs for her cocktail business, “is to maximize everything that I’m growing because I’m growing on really small acreage in the world of farms.”

Syrups, spreads and pickles extend the life of hard-won ingredients. After struggling to find reliable sources of edible flowers, she started growing them herself; they turn those into salts and sugars — a tedious picking, drying, picking process — to rim cocktail glasses, or sprinkle on toast.

“So much of what we produce is based on not wanting to waste,” she told The News Tribune last fall. “It takes so much work to grow this stuff.”

Both parents of two young children, Kelly and Cunningham forged the soda shop for families, for travelers headed to the nearby national park, and for friends and couples from nearby cities seeking that sense of freedom, nostalgia, solitude and discovery that accompanies a day in the Pacific Northwest mountains.

“We made what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go,” said Kelly, noting that breweries attract families, but why not have a wine spritzer while the kids sip sodas and decorate the chalkboard wall?

“We wanted to be part of the local community, not just like a tourist place or not just somewhere that someone who follows us and lives in Bellevue drives out to,” she explained. “We wanted to be a place that feels like a part of their extended home.”

ANOTHER WILKESON TREASURE

After many pandemic delays, the shop opened last October, closing for the season before Christmas. They plan to be a seasonal destination, Thursday to Sunday, May to December.

Their need for a permanent kitchen space grew along with the syrup business. Now they also offer Cocktail Farm Club, a subscription model that allows them to share seasonal bottlings with loyal supporters.

“Those just kind of took off, and we saw enormous potential in them,” said Cunningham, “and we also just saw potential in iterating on that same model. What can we grow, what can we put in a bottle or release on a shelf that comes from our farm — and gets people excited about eating and drinking in this way again?”

With her farm in Buckley, Wilkeson made sense geographically, but they were equally enamored of the town’s history.

Atop a coal mine and sandstone quarry, it, along with Carbonado, is one of the remaining vestiges of this booming 19th century business. With around 500 permanent residents, Wilkeson boasts five listings on the National Register of Historic Places, including the notorious Wilkeson Arch that either welcomes you or implores you to remember your time here.

“We’re really big as a family about honoring history but then moving it forward into the present, or even a little bit past,” said Kelly.

They are more than passersby. With the financial help of their grandmother, they bought the buildings at 533-535 Church St. Cunningham joined the vibrant local Eagles club across the street and helped plant a community garden last year.

The shop sits in the 533 space, where the previous tenant, Cascade Glacier Distillery, built a fireplace that anchors the front seating area. Skeek’s Cafe operated out of the other, older lot next door, which they are currently using as a test kitchen, shipping hub and set for educational cocktail videos.

Their father, Dan Drllevitch, led the renovation efforts. For three decades, he and his brother have owned The Millwork Outlet in Auburn, another impetus for a storefront.

In the back room of the soda shop, guests can relax on leather couches or bar stools in front of salvaged wood tables built by Drllevitch, all for sale or as inspiration for a commissioned piece.

The family refreshed the facades with white paint and black trim, with big plans for a beer garden out back and along the side. The interior travels seamlessly between retro — hardwoods, backlit letterboard menus, an early 20th-century stove now used as a hutch — and contemporary, with subway tile along the counter, vintage rugs and leather poufs. A large American flag hangs behind a row of bistro tables, a hunter’s catch on the wall visible upon entry. It exudes comfort and style without forgetting who it is or where it came from.

Their arrival solidifies this less than one-mile stretch of Route 165 as a cultural destination. Both owned by a husband and wife, The Carlson Block serves dreamy wood-fired pies, while NOMAD PNW roasts coffee and bakes Argentinian empanadas. The Pick & Shovel is not just a dive bar but a saloon, and in Wilkeson you can skate on bacon and eggs.

“You never know,” added Cunningham, “especially in a small town, change can be hard. We were aware of that, and really hoping that people would embrace us in a way that felt authentic.”

SIMPLE GOODNESS SISTERS

▪ Soda Shop: 533 Church St., Wilkeson, simplegoodnesssisters.com; Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.; reopening for the season May 13

▪ Online Retail: ship-to-home syrups, $20/375ml bottle (makes 10-12 drinks at ½ oz-¾ oz), kits, salt/sugar garnishes and cocktail books available

▪ Cocktail Farm Club: actively accepting memberships, $55/month includes 12-oz seasonal syrup and 12-ounce standard syrup, plus garnishes, recipe cards and access to video tutorials, plus special events

This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 5:05 AM.