Drew Alexander, Owner
OUR PAST
THE PATH TO CHANGING THE WORLD BEGINS WITH CHANGING OURSELVES.
Plagued by multiple health issues for which traditional doctors had no cure, Lynne Dougherty was disillusioned with western medicine. She changed her diet and found solutions with homeopathic remedies. Lynne opened Cornucopia Natural Foods in 1976 to bring empowering health and wellness options to her Sayville, NY community.
Lynne’s husband built the shelves, and she curated the healthy products to fill them. Over time, they brought in more items like fresh produce, juices, and prepared foods, until the store’s namesake – a symbol of abundance for a healthy community – proved fitting and they outgrew the original space.
Cornucopia has existed in three different locations in downtown Sayville. After nearly 40 years in business, Lynne’s son, Jonathan, took over the business to spearhead the largest expansion yet. Today’s Cornucopia is double the size of the original, but Jon’s father still built the store’s wooden shelving. Lynne’s vision and values remain intact after all these years – providing the highest quality food and wellness items that serve our health, community, and world at large.
OUR PRESENT
DOUBLING DOWN ON OUR VALUES
After taking over, Jonathon sought to make Cornucopia a force for positive change both near and far. We make contributions to the greater Sayville community’s schools, food pantries, and local non-profits.Cornucopia is a member of 1% for The Planet – donating 1% of our gross sales to non-profit environmental protection organizations. Additionally, Cornucopia achieved B Corporation status – a third-party certification that our business practices represent fair and equitable treatment for our employees, customers, vendors, and other business partners. As natural products have become more widely available, Cornucopia made sure to be at the forefront of the industry. Our store is 100% Non-GMO. Our produce is 100% Organic, and our deli is close behind. We only carry animal products from ethical and humane sources. Our vitamins, supplements, and body care items are carefully vetted by a team of dedicated individuals with decades in the industry. Our goal is to provide you with a one-stop shopping experience where you never need to question whether a product meets your standards.
OUR FUTURE
GROWING TO BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY
In January of 2023, Jonathan sold the business to the long-time General Manager, Drew Alexander. Drew began working for Cornucopia in 2006 – as a dishwasher. But as he likes to put it:
“I washed those dishes really well… so they let me work behind the deli counter… and then cook in the kitchen… and then stock the shelves… and so on and so on until I had done every task in the store. Everything I was doing was working out pretty well… so they let me run the place.”
Over nearly 20 years, Drew has been working alongside Lynne and Jonathan every step of the way. As the new steward of the Cornucopia mission, he’s honored to upkeep this fixture in the community and to uphold Lynne’s legacy of pursuing better personal health and a better world in the process.
what else does the future hold for CornucopIa?
“We’re going to grow. We’re going to better ourse
lves to better serve the community. That service means not only providing our customers with the healthiest and most eco-friendly options possible, but also providing our staff with gainful employment and career opportunities in the best workplace we can possibly create. That means improving our operations so we can be even more environmentally responsible and expanding our outreach and charitable endeavors.” – Drew Alexander
