linked by lily: june’s daytime inside. drishti compost outside.

There are partnerships, and then there are PARTNERSHIPS!!!

As the Roast Rider marketing director and a co-founder with my husband, Wayne, I never felt I gave our loose-leaf teas the love they deserve. Until last year, bragging on our teas was a priority in theory only. Before that time, I focused mainly on our trailblazing coffee roasters and culinary partnerships, native to my food-flirting soul.   

Then came the Roast Rider expansion plan, and a birthplace for RR#2. 13 years after we opened #1 at Hilltop East.  

A few months into our search for the ideal spot, Wayne came home from a meeting eager to show me a space on Dam Neck Road, or what I call Red Mill adjacent. I was hesitant because its vibe is different from the East Beach center we were seriously considering. But, after 41 years of marriage, I can count on one hand the times Wayne was so sure of something that he would do whatever it took to get me on board. “Just come see it,” he said repeatedly. 

With his perfect record scouting everything from dogs to homes, I conceded. Upon arrival, he pointed out the wide sidewalk wrapped around the building. I imagined tables and chairs, a canopy, plants, a dog or two, and lots of people gabbing and laughing. But it didn’t stop there. That single strip of pavement ignited my vision for what is now The DrishTea Garden at Roast.

But hey, not so fast. I have a lot of ideas. Execution is another story.  

Turning an empty sidewalk facing some foul-smelling dumpsters into an enchanted annex is way out of my lane. I also have a lot of lanes. 

I wish I could remember how I hooked up with Amy Goodove, the Director of Education and Community Outreach at Drishti Compost.  Amy helped seed the tea garden concept swirling around in my head. We chatted briefly, and she suggested I meet the rest of the Drishti team at the Garlic Festival held at Esoteric. So, I did what any tea-loving imposter would do. I enlisted Jaelynn Holloway, a star barista, VT Civil Engineering student, and genuine tea lover, to join Wayne and me at the festival. Amy introduced the three of us to Beatriz Balderas Ramirez, aka ‘Queen B’, Farmer John, and Lily Sutch. Lily founded Drishti Compost.   

Over the next several months, the Drishti Compost team collectively envisioned and installed the DrishTea Garden at Roast. Their use of coffee grounds from our two shops was a no-brainer.  

The tea garden is destined to be a source of enchantment and education, with tea flights, art contests, and riddles on an app I helped develop, but first things first. Jaelynn and I are working with artist Ruby Starcher on illustrated displays so that adults and littles can sit on cute benches and read fun stuff about teas. 

We must grow it so they will come. And stay.

As Summer ‘26 heated up, the garden successfully sprouted novel teas like Holy Basil and Paracress, an herb you bite for a cool mouth-numbing sensation and toothache relief.  During the garden’s growth spurt, on the other side of town and close to our home, a soon-to-sprout café caught my eye and teased my food-foraging soul. 

My love affair with June’s Daytime started as an innocent flirtation on my part. I met girlfriends for lunch the day after they opened. What grabbed me was the effortlessly simple, though not simplistic, menu with a modern twist on sandwiches I loved as a child. And those pastries. Equal parts promise (gorgeous) and delivery (taste). 

I learned that *Drishti Lily* was the force behind this magical spot and is now living her best new life as June’s co-owner!!

Wayne and I rarely share the same level of enthusiasm over a new prospect for our business (also our baby), so when we do, it’s pure magic. Without my signature prodding, he brought chocolate chip muffin samples to the shop so our finicky baristas could vote for - or against. Let it be said, we don’t make a move without their blessing. The next day, he saw two baristas and our social media manager eating lunch together at June’s! 

It was unanimous. Our love affair with June’s heated up when we sat down with Lily and Holly, her pastry chef, to discuss ways to bring their treats to Roast. In that conversation where logistics can get dicey, Wayne vowed to pick up the pastries every other day and deliver them to our two shops. So far he has kept his word.  

I may not grow it, but I’m not just spilling the tea when I say June’s is delivering some of our most popular cookies, muffins, and scones. It’s crazy in the best way. We sell June’s Daytime inside both shops and grow teas, linked to Lily and Drishti, outside our Red Mill location. To learn more about what they do, please check out the Drishti website. Then, come to us to taste, smell, and experience how three very different brands embrace full-circle partnership serendipity.