Working in hospitality got pretty nasty during peak COVID.
“People were angry,” recalled Dee Earle-Browning of Wading River, a GM for Hilton at the time. “Mask on, people were angry. No masks, people were angry. The mandates. They were checking in angry and over nothing we did or even could do.”
After 20 years, Browning was losing her passion.
The job also became mentally taxing.
She had had enough.
Browning resigned in May 2021. Just two months later, she would open the first Suffolk County franchise location of the nationwide Your CBD Store in Port Jefferson Station.
Now, instead of people coming to her with grievances, they’re coming to her for help.
Born in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Browning had long experienced the benefits of CBD and hemp products, well before things caught on in the states.
She had used hemp and its natural antioxidants for skin care for years.
“I had been using it for awhile,” she said.
She was also especially familiar with the SunMed line of premium products, which treat anything from skin conditions, to anxiety, to sleep disorders. There’s even a pet line.
“Through my research, I realized there were no My CBD locations (which sell SunMed), in all of Suffolk County,” she said.
Yet at the time, there were already 22 in nearby Connecticut.
“We went over to Connecticut, and the stores were beautiful,” she said.
After a trip to SunMed headquarters in Florida, meeting the owners, and hours spent combing through independent lab reports, Browning was convinced this company was the absolute best.
She was all-in. Her education and training began in early 2021.
“This company was founded by a woman, a mom who was suffering from various health ailments, who found relief and decided she wanted to do this for other people,” Browning said. “And because there is so much CBD on the market, I knew what we wanted to put on our shelves had to be consistent.”
Consistency — which she cited as the biggest concern in the crowded CBD landscape —and, thus, results, is what keeps her customers coming back.
“One of the pillars of the company is sampling,” she said. “The people can try, because if you’re going to go on this health journey with us, we want to find the product that is right for you.”
Clients are also encouraged to communicate with their doctors.
“We’re a CBD store; we’re not doctors,” she said. “So everything you do, speak to your doctor with any concerns. All our products also have QR codes to lab reports. Everyone needs to be on the same page.”
This July, Your CBD Store Port Jeff is celebrating its first year in business.
Browning said the numbers prove her store is helping the community, which she says has welcomed the business with open arms, from the local chambers, to healthcare professionals.
“We have about a 75 percent return rate” for clients, she said. “And even for the 25 percent, one of the things we offer at all of the franchise stores is a 30-day money back guarantee.”
But, she says “delivery makes all the difference” when it comes to results.
“So we figure out what’s the best method for you,” she said.
If you go
Your CBD store is located at 590 Patchogue Road in Port Jefferson Station, at the Terryville Road intersection. Click here for a Google Map. The phone number is 631-828-3877.
For the month of July, to celebrate the anniversary, Your CBD Store has teamed up with Community Growth Center of Port Jefferson, a not-for-profit community based wellness center.
The proceeds will help fund the group’s efforts to feed the homeless and food insecure.
What is CBD?
According to the Mayo Clinic, CBD is a chemical found in marijuana. CBD doesn’t contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana that produces a high.
The usual CBD formulation is oil, but CBD is also sold as an extract, a vaporized liquid and an oil-based capsule.
Food, drinks and beauty products are among the many CBD-infused products available.
Top: Owner Dee Earle-Browning at her Your CBD Store location. (Satin Widrow)
