The Sisters

BELINDA KELLY

Co-Founder of Simple Goodness Sisters, Bartender and Recipe Developer


Belinda Kelly is the foodie and flavor master behind our recipes. She founded Happy Camper Cocktail Company, one of America’s first mobile bars, in 2016. Simple Goodness Sisters launched in 2018 due to the fanfare for Belinda’s easy to mix, flavorful cocktail syrups that distinguished her “farm-to-bar” cocktail menu. Today Belinda co-farms the Simple Goodness Farm and co-owns the Simple Goodness Sisters beverage brand and Simple Goodness Sisters Soda Shop.

Drawing on her expertise on both ends of the farm-to-bar movement, Belinda also consults brands on integrating the movement into their brand story. She loves food in all forms, serving others through serving drinks, singing loudly to Dolly Parton songs, and her family of wild boys, including husband Troy, sons Henry and Hayes, and lab Leupold. You can find her most often in the kitchen at the Soda Shop, writing and testing new recipes.

HAPPY HOUR WITH BELINDA

Food and hospitality are Belinda's love languages. The cocktails she loves to make for friends and customers are like quickly scrawled love notes, little moments shared with others that tell them how much they mean to her. For Belinda, cocktail hour is a celebration of the connections she shares with others, as well as her connection to nature and growing things. Her favorite drinks are refreshing, bright, and herbaceous, such as a Lemon Herb Bourbon Sour, but the drinks are second to the company she shares them with. For Belinda, Happy Hour hour is a service from one person to another, a restful stop in our busy lives to clink and connect.

VENISE CUNNINGHAM

Co-Founder of Simple Goodness Sisters and Farmer of Simple Goodness Farm


Venise Cunningham is co-owner of Simple Goodness Syrups and the owner of Simple Goodness Farm. Venise transformed a 10 acre dairy property into the world’s first cocktail farm, growing fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers exclusively for use in cocktails. A first generation farmer, Venise has cultivated deep ties and connections with the local farm community. Her passion for growing healthier, local food has helped develop her sustainably tended farm to now support both the Simple Goodness Sisters product line and the menu at the Simple Goodness Soda Shop. ​

Venise’s personal motto is to “feed your dreams, and starve your fears.” Venise loves working on the farm alongside her husband, Ross, who is always either on a tractor or fixing one, while she designs their next farm renovation project. On any given Sunday, Venise is probably out in the cocktail field with her kids Deyton and Cash behind her, teaching them the virtues and pragmatics of farm life as she works.

HAPPY HOUR WITH VENISE

Venise's perfect happy hour is a walk through the garden at Simple Goodness Farm with a tall, sweet drink in hand, inventorying the day's work and planning the tasks to come. Her favorite drinks are easy sippers with ample herb garnishes that ease her into rest after a full day's activity managing the farm. Venise has been known to bring her own herbs to bars, and firmly believes that garnishes ought to be large enough to serve as aromatherapy. Venise is inspired by her Grandma Nanc, the original Happier Hour queen, whose home, heart, and bar is always open to her many friends from many walks of life. She believes in the power of a humble drink to break down barriers and build up communities. Venise's favorite syrup flavor is Rhubarb Vanilla Bean, which she puts in almost everything, but especially her favorite Greyhounds.