East Side Greenhouse: 'Garden Centers Essential' Amid Coronavirus
JOLIET, IL — Monday marked this year's opening day for business at East Side Greenhouse, and hundreds of customers showed up for the occasion. Located at 205 Henderson Ave., East Side Greenhouse has been in Joliet since 1966.
"I think cabin fever has set in," owner Matt Harkis told Patch early Monday afternoon. "The phone was ringing off the hook the last three or four days."
Matt and Susan Harkis operate the small, locally owned business near the corner of Cass and Henderson streets. The greenhouse was originally started by Matt's parents. Since 1980, Matt and his wife took it over, and they have kept it going ever since.
Normally, East Side Greenhouse reopens every year around April 1. But because of concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus across Illinois, the owners delayed their opening by three weeks to Monday.
Don't miss updates about precautions in the Joliet area as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.
By the time the greenhouse opened at 9 a.m., about 30 customers were already waiting to get inside. East Side Greenhouse carries flower baskets, fertilizers, hanging plants, manure, compost, potting soil, blends, loam, soil nutrients and top dressing.
Prior to opening, Harkis told Patch he made sure it was OK with the state of Illinois to open the greenhouse amid the health crisis.
He said he was pleased to learn that, "Garden centers are essential."
Although Monday's opening is three weeks behind schedule, Harkis said his Joliet greenhouse got plenty of sunshine this month.
"All the spring blooming plants are in; and with all the sunshine, things are looking great," he said.
East Side Greenhouse does not draw customers just from Joliet, Harkis said. Some of his loyal customers drive from as far away as Chicago. He said others live as far away as La Salle, Manteno, Chicago Heights and Naperville, "and a big part of our business is out of New Lenox.
"We've got the most loyal customers you can imagine," Harkis told Patch.
As for Susan, she knows "seven out of 10 customers by their first name," he said.
On Monday night, Susan said Monday's opening day drew at least 300 to 500 customers.
"It stayed real busy until about 4:30 p.m. It was crazy," she said.
The phone for East Side Greenhouse is 815-727-6505. The Henderson Avenue business is staying open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the rest of April and then from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting in May.
East Side Greenhouse became one of the first local small businesses to fill out Joliet Patch's simple survey, letting everyone know her greenhouse was waiting to open starting April 20. About 130 Joliet businesses have been added to Patch's list so far. Joliet Patch continues to write human-interest profiles on Joliet-area businesses during the ongoing health crisis.
If you still want to add your business to Joliet Patch's list of open and closed businesses, you can do so here.
Related:
Illinois Coronavirus Update April 20: 1,290 Deaths
Illinois Sees Steep Drop In Coronarvirus Deaths April 19
K Ribs BBQ Offers Family Platter During Coronavirus
This article originally appeared on the Joliet Patch
