JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family is upset after they say their greenhouse trailer was stolen from in front of their home Saturday in the Avondale neighborhood.
Jennifer Ness and Lauren Henry own the Greenhouse Bar mobile plant shop. They said it’s the first mobile plant shop in Jacksonville.
“The trailer is the face of our business. It’s how we built our business, and how we get our income. To see if literally disappear is just devastating,” Ness said.
The couple said they returned to their home to find their matte green trailer with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise inside stolen. They believe the trailer was taken either early Saturday afternoon or evening.
“We usually have it hitched and locked to our other vehicle, but it was in a car accident last week, so it was kind of just sitting out there. Our house doesn’t have a driveway, so it wasn’t anywhere else for it to be other than the street,” Henry said.
The matte green greenhouse trailer included a custom window that they would serve customers at different markets across the city.
Ness and Henry said they spent Sunday afternoon going door to door along Boone Park Avenue asking neighbors if any security cameras caught the thieves in action.
One neighbor’s doorbell camera caught a glimpse of a truck hauling the trailer away. However, trees block most of the vehicle in the picture, making it hard to identify the truck.
The couple said although they are in disbelief, they still plan on opening their physical store in Riverside in October.
“You work so hard for something and to have someone else just claim it for their own in a split second is shocking. It’s disgusting and you feel helpless,” Ness said. “Our main source of getting our plants from all over the state, we used our trailer for to travel it back to Jacksonville to put in the bar. Also there was so much bar equipment, there was pottery, there was merchandise that we were going to be taking to the bar this week.”
“Setbacks happen. Unfortunately, this is not the best setback for use, but we’re going to stay strong and keep going,” Henry said.
A police report has been filed and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is investigating. The couple is also asking the community to help find the trailer.