By james art Lubbock, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) – Wayne and Anne Holland opened their startup nursery and garden center in April 1965 – making the family business one of Lubbock’s longest-running and a staple for area residents thanks to its wide range of products and emphasis on customer service in both the garden and Christmas categories. The couple originally announced their intention to retire on the first day of this year, but six decades of accumulating products, items and memories just wouldn’t allow for an early spring closing as they had planned. With dozens of lifelong customers streaming in for the announced retirement sale in early January and February, much of the inventory found new homes as customers came from all over to share a story or grab a treasure for a keepsake, and before you know it – spring sprung, and loyal, longtime patrons continued to arrive seeking planting advice.
Wayne Holland noted, “As people kept coming for the retirement sale earlier in the year, so many were hoping we would stay at least another year to see them through the spring planting season and have another go at the fall and Christmas. So we decided to stay until the end of 2024 – and here we are. We hope our longtime customers will come and see us another time or two as we retire with almost everything in the store at a discount so we can find a home for all those goodies and share a few more memories.”
An agreement was made to secure a 1-year lease extension so that the store could remain open this holiday season. As the spring and summer months arrived, Holland began moving the accumulated goods and treasures from the warehouse to the trading floor and adjacent storage areas so that everything could be prepared for the annual Open House and the coming months of final clearance. in the process, truckloads of new merchandise, fixtures and decor from decades of business filled every inch of the 50th and Memphis location.
“We’ve loved doing what we’ve been doing all these many years – our customers and staff are like family to us; we will miss them very much. Like the unique product selections and Christmas themes we’ve loved creating for so long, everything has a season, and we’ll miss having a place to greet our friends and help with their questions. Solving problems and offering solutions is what has sustained us all these many years,” said Anne Holland.
Shoppers can expect the iconic store to remain open through the upcoming holiday season and the couple to take a long-awaited full retirement from the business they love so much. The store is due to run until December 31, 2024, and everything in the store — including fixtures and displays — will be sold. With very few exceptions—custom-cut Christmas light lines and hand-tied, custom bows are two examples—everything in the store is typically 50-70% off as the fall holiday season approaches.
Copyright 2024 KCBD. All rights reserved.