Jen Healy, left, chats with a customer Friday at the newly opened J&B Garden Center.
On the local business beat, one bit of news is that North Albany was not without a garden center for long. J&B Garden Center has been in business for 10 days, having opened only a few weeks after Tom’s Garden Center closed so the owners could retire.
When I talked to Jen Healy and Brent Pockrus at the beginning of April about their plan to go into business in the same location as Tom’s, they hoped to open by Aug. 1. But they’re getting going way before that date.
The building at 350 Hickory St. N.W., a former supermarket before it was Tom’s, is still empty and awaiting shelves and merchandise. But the outdoor part of their operation — plants, assorted wooden yard furniture, and commodities like bark mulch and dirt — are set up and ready to go.
Last time I talked to the couple, they hadn’t quite settled on a name for their venture. Now they have: J&B Garden Center it is.
The sign on Hickory Street still points to Tom’s. Jen told me that’ll be fixed next. (hh)
Here’s part of the outdoor section of the new J&B Garden Center.
Prince Simon in the role of the store poodle,
Great place! Met Prince Simon yesterday.
Great place for flowers and plants. Great owners too!