“Lastly, house plants not only make your house look nicer, they are great for air quality. With people spending more time at home and wanting to make their outdoor spaces nicer, the landscaping side of the business escalated as well. “Edible gardening was our top sales category for several months,” Wolfe said. “Quarantine gave them the chance to finally get going.”Īlso, people became more aware of where their food came from and realized that even on a small scale, they could gain some control over what they ate.
We believe there were a lot of people wanting to get into gardening, but had not had the time to get started,” Wolfe said. Why the dramatic surge in business? “We think several factors created the increase in business. We were happy to have been able to do that.” “We kept all our personnel on the job, and they never missed a paycheck. Honestly, with unemployment so high, we had no problems recruiting new employees,” said co-owner Matt Frost. “Everyone has to look out for his or her own best interest. They lost a few employees who were not comfortable working with the public, and each individual decision was respected. So the business did not need to apply to the Paycheck Protection Program, as it remained open and staffed throughout the citywide shutdown. We actually hired a few new employees to handle the influx of customers - in person and by phone,” co-owner Tom Wolfe said. “We were unprepared for how busy we became. The owners guess that their business nearly doubled. Soon after the shutdown began, Urban Roots saw a dramatic increase in customers. That seemed like a good point to end curbside.
When the Phase 1 restrictions were lifted or loosened, they noticed curbside customers would get out of their cars and shop when picking up their purchases. The number of pickup tables kept growing. It started with email orders, and when that got too complicated, they pivoted to phone orders. It was a very popular service for a few months, and it went well after they worked out the kinks. Also, like other businesses in Uptown Messenger’s “Silver Linings” series, this one does not rely on the tourist trade or out-of-town visitors.Īt the beginning of the pandemic, Urban Roots offered a new service: curbside pick-up. It was considered to provide essential services because they sell edibles and fruiting plants.
Like other New Orleans businesses considered essential, the Urban Roots Garden Center did not have to close down during the COVID-19 lockdown.
#Urban roots series#
This is the second Silver Lining, an Uptown Messenger series on locally owned small businesses that are thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic.