Sacred Hearts Goods Serves Up Bread, Mushrooms and
More in Berryville

Story and photos by Rebecca Maynard

In 2018, Dana Olsen’s son Cian was in a serious accident and faced many months of recovery at home after hospitalization. While convalescing, he became interested in mycology, the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi. Cian took online classes from Cornell University and became
an expert.

Meanwhile, Dana was home assisting with her son’s recovery.

“I started to go stir crazy and got back into making sourdough,” she explained. A native to this area, she has lived in various places including France, where she was in the catering business.

However, Dana eventually found herself dealing with severe pain and other symptoms after eating bread or other
wheat products.

“I went six months without bread, then while in Italy and France I had no trouble [eating bread] there,” she explained. Thinking she was no longer gluten intolerant, she once again found herself experiencing symptoms back in the  United States.

The reason, she believes, is that common wheat harvest protocol in the United States is to drench the wheat fields with Roundup several days before the combine harvesters work through the fields. Olsen says that the glyphosate found in Roundup is the cause of her and many others’ symptoms, not gluten itself.

Dana and Cian’s combined interests and expertise led to Sacred Hearts Goods, which was originally based in Loudoun County and recently relocated to 5 South Church Street in Berryville. Sacred Hearts Goods offers fresh baked bread free from chemicals, functional mushrooms, growing consultation services, and more. They also sell cheese from local Harvue Farm, Village Cheeseworks, and are partnered with Chilly Hollow Farm, Great Country Farms, Gathering Springs Farm, and Hilltop Farms salami.

Open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 6pm, the fragrant smelling store is soon planning an official grand opening. One popular item is the mushroom burger, oyster or lion’s mane mushroom battered in egg and pan Cubano crumbs, deep fried, and served with chips and house-made yum-yum sauce.

Fresh baked goods for sale include pan Cubano, rolls, classic sourdough, brioche buns, and scones baked by Dana’s husband Craig.

Cordyceps, reishi elixir, lion’s mane powder, and turkey tail powder are examples of the healing, adaptogenic immunomodulators offered. Cian can customize a blend according to an individual’s needs, as prescribed by a healthcare professional. Email info@fellowfungi.com to schedule a call.

Dana and Craig’s daughter, Liv, also makes sweets, and she and her daughter Genevieve were photographed with the grand prize winning snowman parking meter decoration outside Sacred
Hearts Goods.

Dana enjoyed growing up in Loudoun County, but noted how much it has changed in recent decades.

“We’re really happy with Clarke, and it reminds me of home the way it used to be,” she said. “We love Berryville and we’re not
going anywhere!”

For more information, visit the Sacred Hearts Goods Facebook and Instagram pages, or
call 310-450-1100.