Donald
Teuma-Castelletti
SHAWVILLE Oct. 13, 2018
Saturday marked the end of an era for one business after more than a decade in Shawville, as Kelly’s Green Thumb held a customer appreciation day to thank longtime supporters.
The garden centre, operating since 2005, marked its final day on Oct. 12, with business owner Kelly Wilkinson observing that it’s hard to say goodbye to the location on Hwy. 148.
“This is my heart and soul, I built this business from a garage to Kelly’s Green Thumb, so it’s me,” said Wilkinson. “This is the way I was hoping to have a business, exactly the way it is now. I think I did a good job, I definitely had a lot of good help from the people here. It is bittersweet, but it’s nice to see how much the community has supported me. Coming from the big city to a little town was definitely a big change but it was well worth it.”
Customers were invited to join Wilkinson and employees Jean Claude Laroche and Nicole Beaudoin as they marked the occasion.
“Today is more about the customers, for me to be able to say thank you to them for all the years of them supporting me here,” said Wilkinson.
With catering from Café 349, guests were welcome to drop in from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m., for one last visit. Many shared fond memories of relying on the staff’s expert knowledge and little things that made their customer service stand out.
“It sounds dramatic, but it’s a major loss,” said Julia Clarke.
Clarke, Sandra Rutledge-Barber and Florence Sharpe said Kelly’s Green Thumb had the best variety that they relied on, as well as a top-notch customer service model, such as being prepared for their orders in early spring or having all the answers to their questions. One favourite memory was Wilkinson having popsicles to hand out to customers shopping in the greenhouse during the stiflingly hot days of summer.
Employees Beaudoin and Laroche, both having been with the business for at least five years, said they’ll miss the close-knit aspect of their group at the garden centre.
“It was a little family because there was only a handful of us,” said Laroche. “It made it easier going to work in the morning, for us it was all about the staff.”
Wilkinson echoed this sentiment, saying her luck with great employees has helped her succeed through the years.
“I’ve had very good staff that have been very, very loyal to me, both past and present,” said Wilkinson.
Wilkinson first opened the garden centre in 2005 after working at Pink’s Garden Centre in Aylmer for 13 years. When the owner of Pink’s purchased the property along Hwy. 148 in Shawville, Kelly began her garden centre at the location and had been operating since.
“We found this little gem here in Shawville, which was the old restaurant and we turned it into a retail garden centre,” said Wilkinson. “So, we redid the whole building, added our greenhouses, not knowing what kind of clientele that we would have, and it took off very well from the start.”
However, recently the property was sold, and the new owner is changing things up at the location. Local entrepreneur Tom Orr has purchased the property but said he doesn’t have specific plans for the spot just yet.
While Wilkinson said it’s a bittersweet scenario, she is grateful for the years of support her business has received.
“It’s definitely been a great adventure for me,” she said. “The customers here are unbelievable, they’ve supported me 100 per cent since I’ve been here.”
“It’s very hard for me, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster the past couple of weeks,” she continued. “Today the customers have been very good coming in, wishing their best for me.”
As for what’s next, Wilkinson is firm that her customers will find her locally, working in retail or another career that allows her to work one-on-one with people.
“I’d like to do a public thank you to everybody that’s ever supported me in this business,” she concluded.
