JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Owners of a local mobile plant shop, who back in August had their trailer stolen with thousands of dollars of merchandise inside, are moving forward despite a devastating experience.
The Greenhouse Bar recently opened a brick-and-mortar spot in Riverside.
Owners Lauren Henry and Jennifer Ness say business is better than ever.
“I’ve always had a green thumb. Always been in the yard. This was a natural idea for us to come up with,” said owner Jennifer Ness.
Greenhouse Bar started as a mobile plant shop.
Now the coffee bar is open on Riverside Avenue.
The owners spent most of the year making sure the business successfully opened.
“We started this process and poured concrete here in March and we’ve been at it every day, every week, every month to get to this point,” said owner Lauren Henry.
But getting to this point wasn’t easy.
Along with the stress of opening their new location, their trailer with thousands of dollars worth of plants and merchandise inside was stolen in broad daylight back in August.
The trailer still hasn’t been found.
“The buildout for this space took a lot longer than we had expected. We were working through that and then on top of the trailer being stolen it kind of was just like a perfect storm of things we did not want to happen,” said Henry.
The crime is still affecting how they do business.
“We’ve had to go down and get plants a few times now and we’ve rented a U-haul. It’s not ideal for us. We would really love for someone to bring our trailer back,” said Henry.
The owners said the community is as supportive as ever, as they reach one month since opening.
“We wanted to create an environment where they can come in and picture these items in their own home. A really warm and welcoming environment so when they sit down they can think, ‘OK I can put this in my living room,’” Ness said.
Despite the stressful rollout and no leads on the stolen trailer, the owners are moving forward with a smile.
“For us, it was hard, but we overcame that and here we are. Anyone that’s dealing with something like that, you just have to wake up and keep going,” Henry said.
Plants and drinks aren’t the only options for customers.
They can also get a pastry and other merchandise.
The owners just hope the community will continue to be as supportive as they have been during their first month.