A green, leafy dot on the Oak Park map is destined for the compost pile. The Plant Foundry Nursery & Store at 3500 Broadway lost its lease. The parcel will be developed into a three-story infill of retail and housing.
Nursery owner Angela Pratt was heartbroken when the lease was not renewed, a turn of events that thrust her into a spin cycle of “what to do?” Ideally, she would prefer to buy a property and reopen the nursery nearby.
“I shed a few tears in my car on the way home from the meeting,” Pratt says. “I felt personally rejected, and really sad for all involved. I know it is just business, but for me it is also nine-plus years of building relationships with our wonderful customers, growers, vendors, advertisers and crew. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I am sensitive and I am passionate.”
The setback inspired her to assess the future and begin anew. Negotiations, delays and red tape of city codes are exhausting, but she hopes to remain in the Oaks Park area.
Meantime, her Broadway Triangle nursery will be fully stocked through the holidays. Bare-root fruit trees, roses and other January arrivals have been ordered. Her best-case scenario is to stay open until March.
“We haven’t slowed our roll one bit, and our customers are counting on us to continue what has become tradition for them,” Pratt says.
The nursery serves Oak Park, Tahoe Park, Land Park, Curtis Park, Elmhurst, Arden, Midtown, Downtown “and beyond,” Pratt says.
It’s an oasis among dunes of concrete and glass. The nursery is a neighborhood destination to sip coffee and observe butterflies and hummingbirds. Dog friendly, too.
Tables and shelves are stocked with plants and products not always found at other nurseries. Certified-organic plants and products mingle with California native and water-efficient plants, gifts, cards, tools and books.
“I am proud that I was able to bring a neighborhood nursery to Oak Park, a neighborhood which for many years had been referred to as a ‘food desert,’” Pratt says. “We may not sell produce, but locals can come to us and learn how to grow their own fruits and vegetables. That is empowering and Oak Park deserves that.”
Pratt saw potential at 3500 Broadway, a former tire shop, because it was far enough from box stores and bigger nurseries, and wouldn’t compete with her former employer, Talini’s Nursery & Garden Center in East Sacramento.
“The nursery was built from nothing but a plant nerd’s dream, some cash savings, a coffee-stained edition of the ‘Nolo Small Business Start-Up Kit,’ and the moxie of a newly divorced, middle-aged woman,” she says.
Pratt sensed something amiss when negotiating her last lease. Her request for extended years was turned down. She was offered a two-year lease. Nothing was directly communicated about the upcoming development. Currently, she’s on a month-to-month “spit and a handshake” agreement.
Pratt offered to buy the property but was denied. She doesn’t blame her landlord, the architect and developer Ron Vrilakas. Instead, she says he was always supportive and “very receptive” to her plan to open the nursery.
Even when her lease was not renewed, Pratt says Vrilakas offered her nursery as a main retail anchor for his new development. She declined because the nursery would have lost its only safe loading zone for delivery trucks and customers. She also had concerns about reduced parking impacts.
“Ever since Fixins (Kevin Johnson’s soul food restaurant) came in, parking has been more of a challenge,” Pratt says. “I also did not know what my rent would be. In the long run, property ownership will be much better for me financially and creatively.”
For now, Pratt is waiting and hoping. She has dreams of a hybrid nursery with a coffee trailer or kiosk and covered space for music, talks and classes.
We wish her well.
Dan Vierria is a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener for Sacramento County. He can be reached at masterg29@gmail.com. For answers to gardening questions, contact UCCE Master Gardeners at (916) 876-5338, email mgsacramento@ucanr.edu or visit sacmg.ucanr.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
