After a serious cycling accident, Steven Groff ’87 put a new spin on the adage “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” When life handed the then-orthopedic surgeon lemons, he made cider and beer — and now hemp. He calls it his “second act.”
His Wyndridge Farm venture began as a hospitality and beverage business. Then Groff, along with his wife, Julie, added an event venue by renovating the barn, and creating a restaurant and craft brewery.
Though they now sell beverages up and down the East Coast and employ more than 100 people, Wyndridge is moving forward again — into the hemp industry.
“I had a great run as a surgeon. We had just opened our own orthopedic hospital, OSS Health, and things were going well,” he says. “If the bike accident hadn’t happened, I’d still be doing that. But life brings you changes and you roll with it.”
