Anderson Florist is for sale – Alexandria Echo Press

ALEXANDRIA – Anderson Florist was founded in 1916. For the past 23 years, the store has been owned and operated by Rodney and Lori Schultz.

Now the Schultzes want to retire and at the same time find a buyer for the company.

“I would love to have a young couple come in … and embrace the age and history of the place,” Lori said. “It’s not a brand new facility, but a lot of our customers love that. It’s historic, it’s a family business.”

“I’m very happy to represent the Schultzes,” said Jesse Lutgen, who works for Calhoun in commercial and industrial real estate sales. “I think they’ve done a great job of taking over Anderson and continuing his legacy by providing the Alexandria community with top-notch flowers and plants.”

“I think they have a young and very stable customer base,” he said. “I think this location is here to stay. We would like to see it as a greenhouse and flower shop, but given the location, the sky’s the limit with the property.”

The Andersons owned the store from 1916 to 1990, after which it was purchased by the Petersons.

Lori Schultz worked at the company for eight years until she and Rodney Schultz bought it.

It was a good time to retire, they said.

“The older we get, the more tired we get,” Rodney said. “We’re getting to the age where it just gets harder. We get tired more quickly and we don’t get as much done in a day. It’s probably time to move on.”

The company’s main source of income is the sale of bedding plants, fruits and vegetables.

“I would say about half of our annual income comes from the greenhouse side of things,” Lori said. “We grow a lot from seed and a lot from cuttings, bedding plants, vegetables and that’s kind of our spring madness. We have trees, shrubs and perennials that we also grow and sell.”

“The other half of the income comes from the year-round flower business,” she said. “We import fresh-cut flowers from Ecuador, we make fresh flower arrangements, we do funerals and interior design. That keeps us busy all year round.”

“The greenhouse is basically open from Valentine’s Day to Father’s Day,” Rodney said. “So that’s about a four-month period where we generate half the income. Then the other half is in business year-round.”

The operation covers an area of ​​about 2 hectares, of which about 930 square meters are actual greenhouse space, said Lutgen.

“There is also a primary residence on site,” Lutgen said. “That primary residence could be sold with or without the business, but the business will not be sold without the residence.”

Lori said she enjoyed working in the greenhouse and being organized the most.

“I tend to be a little obsessive about organizing,” she said. “I like to analyze each holiday and see where we are. I want to increase sales every holiday. I’ve been able to do that. Every year I rethink. I lie awake at night thinking about designs.”

Rodney said there has been an increase in younger customers post-COVID.

“It seems like we’ve kept that clientele,” Rodney said. “We’re seeing a lot more young people coming in now than we did before COVID.”

In addition to the company’s regular employees, 13 to 15 people are busy doing transplanting and greenhouse work in the spring, Rodney said.

“This year four of them are over 80,” he said.

“They love gardening… and they love teaching people how to garden,” Lori said.

“Our customers have gotten used to it,” Rodney said. “They come and talk to a specific person, and it works very well. We have a very dedicated staff.”

“And we have a lot of fun,” said Lori.

For more information, visit www.andersonfloristandgreenhouse.com.

Travis Gulbrandson covers a variety of topics, including the Osakis School Board and Osakis City Council, as well as the Brandon-Evansville School Board. He also focuses on crime and court news.