Nearly two decades ago, Drew Alexander walked into Cornucopia Natural Foods looking for a job.
What he found instead helped change the trajectory of his life — shaping not only his career, but also the way he thought about food, health and community.
Today, Alexander, 41, owns the longtime Sayville natural foods market where he once worked as a dishwasher. And with a second location now open at the Station Yards complex in Ronkonkoma, he hopes Cornucopia can have the same impact on even more Long Islanders.
Alexander, who grew up in Bayport, purchased the business in 2023 after working his way up from dishwasher to store manager.
The Ronkonkoma store, a roughly 7,000-square-foot market that opened in September marks the first expansion for the brand beyond its Sayville home, which first opened in 1976.
From dishwasher to owner
Alexander grew up just a mile and a half from Cornucopia’s Sayville store, but his path to owning it was anything but direct.
After studying filmmaking and working in New York City as a lighting technician in the film industry, Alexander eventually returned to Long Island in 2006 searching for stability.
“I was broke and needed a job,” he said. “My attitude was just get any job, get some income going and figure it out.”
He picked up work at Cornucopia while also working the early-morning shift at Trader Joe’s in Lake Grove, leaving there and heading straight to Sayville.
At Cornucopia, Alexander started washing dishes and eventually moved to the deli counter.
His work ethic quickly stood out.
“They told me, you’re a hard worker, you’re honest and you really seem to care about what you’re doing,” he said.
By 2013, Alexander had become store manager.
Along the way, he also developed a deeper interest in nutrition and wellness.
“When I started working there, I started to approach my personal health with greater focus on what I was eating,” he said. “I felt healthier, I had more energy and I realized this healthy eating stuff is for real.”
Just as important, he said, was the sense of community that formed inside the store.
“I was working behind the deli counter and the same people would come in every day for wheatgrass shots or juices,” he said. “You build these personal relationships with customers and with the staff.”
Taking the reins
In late 2021, Alexander received a call that would change his life.
The owner at the time had decided to move on and asked if Alexander knew anyone who might want to buy the business.
“I said, ‘Uh, me,’” Alexander recalled with a laugh.
The transition became official in January 2023. For Alexander, who had recently welcomed a newborn daughter, it marked the start of a whirlwind year.
“My life completely changed over the course of a year,” he said.
Still, many longtime employees saw it as a natural step.
“One of the staff members said something that stuck with me,” Alexander said. “She said, ‘Your fingerprints are all over this place. It makes perfect sense.’”
Alexander said his first priority as owner was simply making sure the business remained strong.
“It was still close to the COVID era,” he said. “I had to make sure the business was successful because I had a big loan to pay. I couldn’t afford to slip.”
Expanding to Ronkonkoma
About a year after taking over, Alexander said he finally felt confident enough to start thinking about expansion.
That was around the time TRITEC Real Estate Company reached out about opening a store at Station Yards in Ronkonkoma.
“When I first saw the shell of the building, I thought, alright, they’re really doing something here,” Alexander said.
After learning more about the project and speaking with people in the community, he decided the opportunity aligned with his vision for Cornucopia.
Construction on the Ronkonkoma store began in 2025. The finished space includes about 6,000 square feet of sales floor and another 1,000 square feet of back-of-house operations.
Unlike the Sayville store, which evolved over decades, the new location allowed Alexander to design nearly everything from scratch with one vision in mind.
“I built the furniture, designed the walls, did the whole layout,” he said. “I stood on the shoulders of giants to get where we are with the original store. But this one I got to design from start to finish.”
The shop features organic groceries, supplements and prepared foods in a warm, modern space built largely with natural materials.
“A lot of the materials were chosen because of their environmental impact,” Alexander said. “We used a lot of wood and metal, not much plastic. We care about the environment and we want that to show.”
As for the environment, he’s also a believer in the transit-oriented development approach that is Station Yards.
“You can bulldoze 10 acres of trees to house 10 families, or you can house hundreds in a much smaller footprint, and on land that was also previously developed,” he said.
A mission beyond groceries
For Alexander, Cornucopia is about more than selling healthy food.
He sees it as a place where community, sustainability and personal well-being intersect.
“The most important decision you make every day is what you eat,” he said. “That decision affects your personal health, but it also affects the planet and the community.”
What’s in store
For those unfamiliar with Cornucopia, the market is designed to be a full-service natural foods grocery store.
Shoppers will find organic produce, responsibly sourced meats and seafood, natural groceries and a wide selection of vitamins and supplements.
The store also features a deli counter serving fresh juices, smoothies, sandwiches and other prepared foods, along with specialty items ranging from plant-based products and gluten-free staples to protein powders and wellness-focused snacks.
The goal is to make healthy eating approachable while maintaining the high standards Cornucopia built its reputation on in Sayville.
“We try to provide the highest-quality products we can, but also work really hard to keep pricing accessible,” he said. “Clean, healthy food shouldn’t be something that’s only available to certain people.”
Follow the journey
Top: Drew Alexander is the new owner of Cornucopia Natural Foods, with locations in downtown Sayville and the Station Yards complex in Ronkonkoma. (Credit: GLI/Mike White)
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