Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Curley.
Hi Casey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My obsession with baking began a long time ago. When I was young, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. My brother and I loved it. We knew the day would consist of walks to the park, building forts, swinging in the backyard, and my favorite, helping my grandma, Mo, in the kitchen.
As I grew older and expanded my knowledge of baking, I learned to love a classic cookie. A cookie is approachable, wholesome, and easily customizable. In a world of store-bought cookies and mug cakes, I have a deep appreciation for the extra time spent to create something homemade. My impatient self slowly learned to be soothed by the hours in the kitchen and love baking long after my time standing on a stool next to Mo had passed.
I may never be the strong, successful homemaker and matriarch my grandma was, but I am proud to carry on her love for some good old-fashioned baked goods. Like many others, I launched my business in May 2020. I had been laid off and found myself with more free time than I knew what to do with. I began baking for friends and family and got the nudge I needed to create a business. If not now, then when! And so the baking began and never stopped…I went back to my full-time job, but wanted to continue to bake for the accounts I had landed and the cookie lover friends I had made.
Today, Sugar & Grain is bigger and better than I ever could have imagined. We have 10 accounts we bake for weekly including food trucks, breweries, cafes, and restaurants. We have a beautiful prep room, dedicated employees, pop-up events almost every weekend and the opportunity to collaborate and connect with other small businesses.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In the scheme of things, the road to building Sugar and Grain has been pretty smooth. At the end of the day, we’re just serving cookies!
But with anything, there are also hurdles to overcome. A few of my struggles included questionable design choices, over-committing, staffing, accurate bookkeeping and organization of ingredients and raw goods. Some of these struggles are still current to this day. In my experience, the hurdles keep coming wether you’re ready or not!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Sugar and Grain focuses on the simple, homestyle cookie. Often overshadowed by frosting topped and highly decorated cookies, we are all about the classic, nostalgic cookie. All our cookies are small batch and made fresh on the day of market or order pickup. Our flavors are reminiscent of family favorites, but have been upgraded to create a delicious cookie with depth of flavor.
Our best sellers are by far the classic Chocolate Chip Cookie with sea salt and the Campfire Cookie. The Campfire Cookie is a buttery, gooey, slightly crispy cookie filled with buttered and baked graham cracker crumble, semi-sweet chocolate and gooey mallows. Most of our weekly accounts only carry this bestseller.
The process in which we prepare and make the dough makes our cookies taste significantly different than others. Cookie dough needs time to hydrate, so we freeze our cookie dough balls overnight. The cookies are then baked fresh to order after at least 24 hours of rest and hydration.
We currently see a lot of success at breweries and restaurant as weekly accounts and market popups. We hope to continue our partnerships with local breweries and work to expand further into San Diego as we grow.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My friends, family and other small business owners have been so supportive. There are so many people who believe in Sugar and Grain and hype us up as much as possible! Word of mouth marketing is the most effective, so I can’t thank all my pals enough! I definitely wouldn’t still have my business today if it weren’t for my parents. They’ve always believed in me and empowered me to make my own decisions ever since I was young. I truly believe that I can be and do anything, and that comes from them.
Contact Info:
- Website: sugarandgrain.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarandgrainco/
