Molly Cheraso - Owner & Founder of Verbena Free Spirited

As soon as we even think about ringing in the new year, resolutions start to form, and the same few ideas begin to pop up on social media and top everyone’s lists. The desire for sobriety or to participate in Dry January is a resolution that remains popular year after year and has become increasingly common with young adults. As with most resolutions, it can be difficult to know where to start your journey but for Clevelanders, there is one place where your sobriety exploration and curiosity can be fed, and it even boasts a phenomenal woman at the helm to help lead the way.
Molly Cheraso is the Owner and Founder of Verbena Free Spirited, an alcohol-free brick-and-mortar shop in Hingetown. This Shoppe, Cafe & Dry Bar is the first and only of its kind in the Cleveland area and Molly has really taken the lead in the community when it comes to making non-alcoholic and holistic options available and accessible to all. Complete with online ordering options, in-person events, and friendly and knowledgeable staff, Verbena has anything that a beginner or seasoned sober individual may need.
Beginning during the pandemic, Molly and her husband sought out new rituals as a way to embrace their new work-from-home lifestyle. Having a daily cocktail to help separate the workday from the evening and relaxation time became their regular routine and ultimately increased their alcohol intake. They soon felt that this new habit didn’t make them feel as good as it should and after attempting Dry January and seeing its positive effect, her husband began to seek out alternative mocktail and non-alcoholic options to keep the tradition but change its results.
Prior to their own journey, neither of them knew much about the non-alcoholic market and what was available to consumers. Exploring a few local places and the NA beer and spirits they offered Molly certainly recognized the rise of this type of beverage and credits many new product options within the last few years with the diverse options available now and the overall popularity of sober spirits. She also discovered the lack of availability and saw just how much our city could use a home for these products and the rising interest in trying them.
The lack of interaction during this transition time also led Molly to feel unfulfilled creatively and she was beginning to feel that her interest in entrepreneurship may be the next step for her. Like many other entrepreneurs, Molly started out in the corporate realm working in banking and finance for 17 years, 13 of which were spent with the local banking giant, Key Bank. After revealing to a career counselor that she had an interest in starting a business and working for herself, she was recommended to try a “side hustle” to see if the entrepreneur life was truly the right fit.
Molly soon found herself inspired by Spirited Away, the first non-alcoholic bottle shop in New York City, and immediately wanted to visit, to see more of and learn more about the products she and her husband had been exploring over the past year. She found herself seeking expert advice, and recommendations and wished it could be found in her own community. Finally, the lightbulb went off and Molly began 2022 as her planning, research, and development year.
Hosting tasting events, visiting similar shops in New York, and starting to show up at pop-up events were a few of the ways she went about exploring this market and seeing if there was the demand that she hoped there would be for a shop like this in Cleveland. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and Molly soon knew that the next step in her journey was to make the spirits and products she had come to enjoy so much, available to her community, with knowledge and education leading the charge.
“I really got the sense from talking to people that this was a topic and idea that there is a lot of cultural pressure around,” she said. “People felt safe talking to me about it and I got the sense that people wanted to talk about their relationship with alcohol and I was someone who wasn’t going to pepper them with questions or pressure about why that was their decision. I heard that story enough times and I had enough positive response that I knew it was something I was going to take the bet on.”

After making the leap from her corporate job in March of 2023, Molly was seeking a brick-and-mortar location and got connected with Amber Pompeii of the Cleveland Tea Revival. Before she knew it, this perfect pairing of guidance and opportunity worked out for both of them and the Verbena storefront was born. On July 7th, 2023, the doors officially opened for the NA spirit shop and almost a year and a half later, things are still growing.
Like anyone who takes the leap from corporate to small business, Molly felt the pressure of making up her mind and deciding to try her hand at entrepreneurship. She shared, “I have no regrets about moving on and leaving my corporate job behind. Along the way, I was connected or given advice or supported by so many women.”
She went on to credit her relationships with other business owners as the guiding light to building her business. Molly is no stranger to the power of sisterhood telling us, “This never would have happened without a whole string of women. Starting with that career counselor, getting connected with Anne Hartnett and Caroline on her team from Harness Cycle, Amber Pompeii from Cleveland Tea Revival, Charity Crawford from Studio Chartreuse who created the whole vision and brought it to life, and then my team is almost all women! I went from the corporate world which is very patriarchal and all men to the small business world which is creative and full of amazing women who are so supportive of each other.”
Molly elaborated a bit on how some of Verbena’s most important aspects, including its name, came from her collaborations with others. She said, “That goes back to Charity and Studio Chartreuse. Initially, I was operating under ‘Free Spirit Cle’ but when I hired their team, they asked if I would consider changing the name. At that point, I realized it was very similar to a lot of other names in the industry. I wanted something very feminine, botanical, herbal, and unique. And they came back with Verbena. It's just a beautiful name. It's the name of an herb or flower, it's been used medicinally, and it can be used in tea and drinks. We kept that free-spirited in there too and if I hadn't worked with Charity and her team, I don't think I would have ever come up with Verbena.” Molly also recently made the connection of the witchy herbal store in the movie Practical Magic, which is called Verbena and is even more confident it was the perfect fit.
The Cleveland community always shows up and shows out for its newcomers and long timers alike and Verbena's story is no different. Much collaboration and education took place between Molly and other community leaders, especially in Hingetown, there is such camaraderie between businesses. Neighborhood markets, local events, and collaborative efforts make for unique experiences and deeper connections with customers and neighbors alike. She calls it a “small town community feel” and really credits the area Verbena is in as a catalyst for its success.
The community has continued to show up for Molly and her shop in many ways, including through its patrons. The stories that were shared with her that made this shop come to life, continue to be told by those who walk in the doors and truly seek connection to go along with their non-alcoholic journeys. “The whole purpose behind Verbena is for it to be this place that is very inclusive and celebratory and when you walk in the door, I want people to feel comfortable. We spend a lot of time walking them through the products, talking to them about their stories, seeing what they like, and giving them samples of things. It's a very personal connection we have,” she told us.
A true admirer of her city, Molly understands that Cleveland is the perfect place for growth and community. “I’ve lived in the city of Cleveland for almost 20 years, and I just want to see new and exciting things thrive here. When I was working with the career counselor the first thing, she had me do was a visions and values exercise. I told her my number one value was community and belonging and when I got off the phone with her, I burst into tears, and it shocked me because I had no idea I felt so strongly. That is what really led me to this point and looking back that is what I feel in this small business community and what keeps me going day to day,” she shared.

Although the benefits of womanhood and sisterhood are undeniable, so is the struggle that comes with being a woman entrepreneur and embarking on such a life-altering journey. Molly knows the feeling all too well and touched on some of the imposter syndrome that she has faced throughout her journey in business ownership. She said, “For me, it's trusting myself and trusting that if I want to do things my way and that’s different from the norm, that’s ok. You have to be ok with trusting that it’s ok to follow your own intuition and to try and do things differently and have confidence in that. It's not something that the whole society and culture is behind you saying ‘Yes, this is what we want.’”
Additionally, being a woman and starting any business venture comes with its own challenges as well. She told us about her experiences wanting to run her business based on her personality which is much more heart-forward. She shared about the difficulty that came with parts of entrepreneurship that she often led with her intuition saying, “I can’t tell you the numbers, I don’t have specific financial goals, but I just really believe that if I follow my gut and but my whole self into it, I can make it work.” This is a sentiment that many women feel when starting any new project and Molly described the societal support for women, or lack thereof, saying “Our society is not set up to support women in that way and say “Yeah you can do that, and you should have all the confidence in the world. It’s blocking any of that out and surrounding myself with other women who won’t be challenging me in ways that make me feel insecure but instead are challenging me in ways that are supporting me in ways that feel uplifting.”
Her passion and care shine through in all aspects of the business, including the products and menu available to customers. Being someone who genuinely enjoys the items she offers and invests in her lifestyle the way her customers so often do helps Molly to form deeper connections with her patrons and allows them to feel at ease knowing that someone who cares for this idea as much as they do is leading the way.
We asked about the different items available both on the menu and on the shelves in the storefront. Molly highlighted that the menu is constantly evolving and can differ from season to season and the most popular items that come in. The vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu has Cleveland Tea Revival to thank for many of its recipes and inspiration. In addition to the vast array of products available, the staff at Verbena stocks the cafe with house-made food menu options.
There are often new samples that the staff gets to try and then build a menu item from when it’s a hit. Testing drinks and creating recipes is a highlight of working at the shop and there is a lot of creative freedom that comes with the recipe development for both Molly and her staff. She mentioned always providing a twist on the usual favorites such as a Manhattan or margarita and also touched on the unique and wonderful world of functional spirits. This realm is truly where Molly believes the NA industry is headed, she shared, “Its products where they add in plant-based ingredients to give you a mood benefit, health benefit, or a feeling. Products like kava, hemp, mushrooms, roots, vitamins, and supplements. The spirits that use there are powerhouses because you get all of those benefits, and they taste really good.”
This new realm unlocks a new and exciting element for both Molly and her guests and she encourages everyone to try something new and see what it can do for them. It is clear that Molly takes real pride in her interests, work, and customer service and she told us, “The best thing is when you serve someone a drink and you can tell they are just blown away. Because they can’t believe that what they’re drinking is non-alcoholic. Sometimes we see this placebo effect where you feel like you’re in a bar and we are serving you a cocktail that looks beautiful and you have a burn in the back of your throat, or your cheeks get a little rosy. Combine all those things together and you’ll get a little buzz and you’ll be happy, but you can drive home and feel good the next morning.”

Much of what Molly talks about are the elements of surprise that come along with the Verbena experience. Customers are surprised that their decorative and enjoyable drinks contain no alcohol, surprised that the food menu that’s available is diverse and delicious, surprised by how many options are there for them to explore, and even surprised by how they feel after consuming the food and drink, even carrying over into the next day. Although surprise is such a common feeling for others, for Molly, it’s more about intention.
Each choice is so well thought out and developed that it is clear the intentional work pays off in the reactions of her patrons. Molly is so mindful of the surprising, new, and exciting experiences she is giving customers, all the while knowing it is going to happen because she made it so. Her own experiences translate to such a positive experience for guests, and she gets to revel in the magic and transformative nature of her work and continue to spread it to all those willing to give something new a try.
Beyond the curation of an experience, Molly recognizes that what she does is deeply personal, and that knowledge carries over into the way she runs her business as well. She told us, “People have to be able to find a place where it's ok to be very vulnerable. For better or worse, opening a small business is so incredibly personal, I care so much about it and so much of myself has been poured into it. It's filled with the things that I love which is the great part, but I also wake up every morning and it's the first thing I think about.”
Speaking about first-time visitors, those curious about a sober lifestyle, or even those seeking the benefits their beverages can offer, Molly shared about some of the things she and the staff at Verbena do to ensure a welcoming environment for all to explore freely. She said, “We spend a lot of our time explaining everything. We usually start with how things are laid out and how to navigate what you might want to try. We try to get a sense from them of what brought them in, what piqued their curiosity, or what they might like to drink regularly. The other thing is, if we have it open, you’re welcome to sample it. I don’t want to send anyone home with something and they don’t like it and it sits on the shelf.”
Molly also told us that they are not gatekeeping any secrets at Verbena and are always ready and willing to share their cocktail recipes and concoctions with anyone who enjoys them. It truly is an experience and an interpersonal interaction that is thoughtful at its core. She also encourages attending some of their sampling and tasting events as a way to start exploring new items and get a feel for your likes and dislikes. Other events like cocktail classes or group gatherings can be another excellent opportunity to learn for those just beginning their journey.
Almost as if it is a styling or design experience, Molly and her team keep individuality and customization at the forefront of their efforts. It is honestly a full-service experience where the goal is not to make a sale or create a repeat customer, it is to curate an intimate experience for each and every person and find their perfect fit. She tells us, “I just want people to take home something that they really love and that they want to share with their family and friends.”
This perfectly transitioned to our final topic, the future of Verbena. Despite her success and the excitement surrounding the business, Molly knows she never has had any intention of growing beyond her means. Without intention and thoughtful connection at the forefront, there would be no Verbena so growing too big to achieve that personal touch is not a dream of hers at all.
Despite feeling strongly about maintaining all that makes Verbena special, Molly does see growth in many areas including more online retail, more events in the community, and finding better ways to do the things that already make the business so great. Her main goals include more partnerships and culinary experiences to offer that feature and highlight non-alcoholic choices. Starting this year, there will be many different meal-driven experiences that focus on being a sober activity but not sacrificing the beauty of pairing flavors with a well rounded dish.
Additionally, Molly has big dreams of curating a mocktail cookbook, crafting her own products, and continuing to share as much as she can with others. She shared, “I am continuously focused on the ways I can get the ideas out there to help draw people into it. I really think the secret is getting people to have their own experience with it and see how that goes. I just want them to come in and decide for themselves.”
As for the movement as a whole, Molly can see a positive rebrand in the future. “The thing I don’t like is that we have boxed ourselves in and are defined by what we aren’t. We are ‘not alcohol’. There is no good agreed-upon term as to what this world is. I think that will evolve,” she shared. She also told us about her hopes for the functional space to continue to grow and explore more health benefits for those who seek them.
With knowledge and passion, Molly has created a welcoming and intimidation-free space where sober and sober-curious individuals alike can learn and explore the options available to them. Never shying away from a challenge or obstacle, Molly puts her confidence and best foot forward. She invests back into the community that built her and alongside her own journey and discovery, she guides others to do their own exploring and see how it can benefit them. Open-minded, open-hearted, and open to opportunities, Molly leads Verbena on a Voyage to provide Clevelanders with the options and knowledge they need to be vulnerable and try new things. She is enthusiastic and empathetic, both of which shine through in all she touches. Molly and Verbena are incredible additions to our great city and all of its diverse offerings and we couldn’t be happier to have them both.
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