Have you noticed that most edibles or cannabis-infused snacks are sweet stuff like cookies and gummies? And let’s not even get started on the cliché of brownies.

Stacey Dougan noticed. A vegan chef for more than two decades who created and operated the Simply Pure restaurant at Downtown Container Park for more than seven years, Dougan naturally started dabbling in cannabis when legalization arrived, and she quickly spotted her path.

“First of all, I just don’t have a sweet tooth like that,” she jokes. “But I wanted something healthy. Certainly with cannabis but also with vegan food back in the day, it takes time for people to catch up to change, and eating [healthy] requires a mind shift.”

If you’ve tasted her cannabis-infused dehydrated kale chips, you’re probably ready for the shift.

Dougan closed Simply Pure in March 2021, not because of the pandemic, but because she was ready to move on to other projects, including those in the cannabis space. She was able to take a bit of a hiatus last year and spend lots of time with her 7-year-old son Zion, but now the break is over.

Dougan had already started creating and hosting infused dinner experiences before she developed a line of organic edibles during the pandemic. She showed off some of her latest creations at a September event, inviting friends and influencers and selling a few tickets, too.

“I didn’t want to charge very much, but my team was like, we got this,” she says. “We sold tickets for $250 and sold them out, and I was shocked. But it shows that this really works, and it started a transition from then to now where I’m figuring out exactly what part of this space I want to work in.”

With consumption lounges on the way, Dougan can envision a future where her products and cuisine will have a bigger stage on which to shine. A new partnership could put her organic, infused cooking oils on the market soon, and she has stepped into a leadership role as a member of the executive board of the recently formed Chamber of Cannabis, a nonprofit entity working to build the young industry into an inclusive community.

And then there’s Simple Diner, sort of the next generation of Simply Pure, a restaurant concept Dougan assembled with a few partners to compete in the Great Coffee Shop Giveaway Contest. Simple Diner is one of six finalists presenting their plans and their food to a panel of judges, with the winner receiving the keys to a fully designed, built-out and equipped restaurant space in Downtown Las Vegas, courtesy of Dapper Companies.

As part of the contest, Simple Diner will be taking its turn cooking and serving at Vegas Test Kitchen, on April 29 and 30.

“We came together and formed a team in an organic way and put together our proposal in two weeks,” Dougan says. “We knew we were in there. We’re preparing for the win regardless of whether we get the space, because we work so well together. And we’re all cannabis consumers, so that makes it even better.”

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