A good landscaping business can make your outdoor spaces. A great landscaping business can create an outdoor oasis beyond your wildest imaginings, but their work generally stops at the soil. Up until a few years ago, Matt Longwell was a landscaper, full stop. His firm, Sweetgrass Landscaping was celebrated for it work making backyard dreamscapes and grand commercial entries.
But as anyone will tell you, the business of landscaping is all about growing. “We’ve been in the landscaping business for 20 years, and every so often someone would ask about an outdoor kitchen. We’d build it, but it wasn’t something we were really going after,” Longwell said. And then came 2019. And I think we all know what happened then. “I don’t know if it’s because of COVID making everyone stay at home, but more and more people started asking for them.”
Seeing the opportunity to develop Sweetgrass into something more, Longwell put his company’s expertise in making beautiful outdoor kitchens to good use. Launching Sweetgrass Outdoor Kitchens & Grills, he’s showing that the possibilities are truly endless.
“We went to three different manufacturers to become dealerships, so we were able to cut out the middleman,” he said.
Working with Blaze Outdoor Products, Coyote Outdoor Living, and Bull Outdoor Products, Sweetgrass began putting a focus on outdoor kitchens, creating jaw-dropping designs that elevate this trendy new lifestyle space. More than simply a patio BBQ, their products carry the same beauty and quality finishes as high-end kitchens found in custom homes, with grills, pizza ovens, full bars, broilers and shaded conversation spots to create an elegant garden party.
“The traditional place to hang out during a party was always the kitchen, so we give them a little better scenery,” Longwell said.
And that scenery doesn’t just include the gorgeous landscaping (which they still provide). It includes a range of finishes from stacked stone to tabby, a wealth of options to suit any style. “We’ve done everything from hardy siding to oyster shell and brick. You’re only limited by your imagination.”
And when you find your imagination wanting, Sweetgrass can help get your juices flowing with the mind-boggling array of add-ons and options available. Beyond the chef-caliber gas and infrared grills, you can kit out your outdoor kitchen with flat-topped griddles, ice makers, refrigerators, wine coolers and even drop-in coolers.
“I was working on one the other day where the customer asked for a spice rack, so we added one,” Longwell said. “Anything you can have in your kitchen, we can add.”
That includes dazzling cabinets, crafted with the same stylish sense as any custom pieces you’ll find in a high-end home. Built around aluminum framing so they’ll stand up to the elements, these cabinets are made from ¾-inch-thick high-density polyvinyl to mimic the look of wood but with far more durability.
“It basically looks like the kitchen cabinets you’ll find in the house, and we can offer them in 15 different colors and a ton of different styles,” Longwell said.
The result is a kitchen that transcends the typical stone counter and built-in grill. A Sweetgrass Outdoor Kitchen is truly customized, giving you the same ability to create your dream space outside just as well as you could inside. You’re just going to have a little more fun in it when you’re finished.
And since Sweetgrass still does landscaping—along with outdoor lighting, irrigation, hardscape patios and more—it’s essentially one-stop-shopping for the chance to let your imagination run wild.
“We can design and build an outdoor entertainment area just about anywhere,” Longwell said.
To find out more, visit sweetgrasscustomoutdoorkitchens.com.
