Don and Kevin Grace went from owning a traditional landscaping company to opening an urban farm store in the heart of the city, on W. 65th Street in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. Since Grace Brothers Nursery & Supply Farm, Garden & Pet Urban Sustainable Living store started, the brothers haven't looked back. Watch video
CLEVELAND, Ohio - When the housing market turned downward during the Recession, so did the Grace brother's garden centers. Selling plants and trees to landscape contractors, meant sales went from flat to declining.
Don and Kevin Grace decided to close their Medina location, and focus strictly on the six acres at Grace Brothers Nursery & Supply in North Royalton. But they knew consolidation wasn't enough. They had to find new revenue streams.
Then four years ago, they were among first-time spectators in the annual Garden Walk Cleveland, a self-guided tour of gardens, urban farms, vineyards and orchards in several Cleveland neighborhoods. And while others might have strictly enjoyed the day, these long-time entrepreneurs saw opportunity.
One year later in 2012, they opened an urban farm store in the heart of the city, on W. 65th Street in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. Since Grace Brothers Nursery & Supply Farm, Garden & Pet Urban Sustainable Living store opened, the brothers haven't looked back.
Then again, working at a store that has items ranging from bat houses, bee hives, local made foods, animal feed, chicken coops and live chickens does give Don Grace pause periodically.
"When I went to Ohio State for landscaping and horticulture, I never dreamed I'd be selling chickens and chicken feed one day," he said, as a live chicken jumped up in front of him onto a fence. "My wife still can't get over the idea that I sell chickens ... True story."
Until three years ago, Grace had never been around a live chicken. Now he finds himself doing things like clipping chickens wings, so they can't get away. He's made new relations with all sorts of vendors ranging from Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs who sell him fresh eggs, butter, cheese, bacon, and pickles to gourmet items like bloody Mary mix and soaps. He also works with about 20 farmers who participate in the store's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.
Sales for the store's CSA program are up 50 percent this year from last year, and with about 300 customers, account for about 25 percent of the store's revenue.
"The retention rate with customers from the previous year is pretty good," said store manager, Kevin Kubovcik. "We did not expect this part of the business to grow so fast. But it was a real nice surprise."
Grace said the program has spread primarily by word of mouth from people in the membership club who are trying vegetables that range from collard greens and pickles to Swiss chard and golden beets.
It's a membership program that allows urban dwellers to pick up pre-purchased fresh vegetables each week at the store. Customers have no idea what they will get each week, so the store sends emails each week that include recipes for vegetables they might not normally try.
"People are eating healthier and they're getting stuff that they wouldn't normally buy at the store," Grace said. "So if you get them, then you cook them, even when it's a new item for a lot of people."
Cleveland's urban agriculture movement has steadily grown in recent years with urban farms, and it's continued to spread to certain suburbs which started allowing animals including chickens and bee hives in their cities.
With 20 farmer's markets, 30 CSAs, more than 200 community gardens and a study showing 1,108 potential sites for urban agriculture, "Seedstock," an agriculture blog, ranked Cleveland among the top five of its 10 cities leading the way with innovative urban agriculture.
Grace said plants still remain the company's biggest seller, even at the urban store, but it's seasonal. The urban store continues to bring people in during the harsh winter months for chicken feed, the CSA program, Christmas trees, and local foods.
"It brings people in on a weekly basis," Kubovcik said.
Q. What made you decide to diversify?
A. The first push to diversify had to do with the housing market. When it went south, so did our business. We were forced to diversify and consolidate our garden center businesses. We came to this neighborhood because we did some work in the area, then followed up when we visited the Garden Walk Cleveland. We saw what the community had to offer - the energy level and passion for the community - and we wanted to be part of it.
Q. Where do you see this division (urban farm store) going?
A. I would like the CSA to develop into a market that includes delivery to companies that want to provide fresh local food to their employees. I would be interested in delivering to companies on a weekly basis, to companies that want to see their employees eat in a healthy fashion.
Q. Can you offer one piece of advice for someone considering reinventing?
A. Think in a nontraditional way and don't be afraid to take chances.
Similar to The Plain Dealer's former column called "My Biggest Mistake...and How I fixed it," I'm now interested in sharing what drives a person or company to make a drastic change that led to success. I am looking for Career-changers - from millennials to retirees- and companies, from start-ups to major corporations, who want to share their stories. The focus: people who have drastically switched careers in the past five years and businesses that have found new ways to survive in a changing and ever-evolving marketplace. If that sounds like you, please contact me, Marcia Pledger, at (216) 470-7324 or send an email to mpledger@plaind.com.