Zeeland's Outback Greenhouse celebrates 50 year anniversary

ZEELAND — When Outback Greenhouse opened their doors on the morning of Saturday, April 27, it was a milestone for the family business.

First opened in 1974, the business celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday. Jerald Berens and his son Herb started the business as Berens Flower Garden. It has remained in the family through the years and operates at 1134 64th Ave. in Zeeland.

"They (Jerald and Herb) just ventured out and decided to give it a shot and see what they could do with this," said Kathie Berens, marketing director for the company and wife of current owner Jon Berens. "It is pretty amazing because Herb had no prior training with growing flowers or anything so they were literally learning and figuring things out as they went."

It started with a small interest in plants and soon Jerald found his niche. Then, in 1977, Herb took on full responsibility of the business.

In 1993, the company opened a retail center next to VanWeiren Hardware where they worked alongside the hardware store, but with separate transactions.

"It became a really awesome relationship with VanWeiren because people would come in Saturday morning and the guys would go into the hardware store and the ladies would come over to the retail part of the greenhouse and spent the morning there," Kathie Berens said.

Three years later, in 1996, they built a separate retail center just north of the original Berens Flower Gardens — which is now the company’s wholesale area.

The business has relied on family for its success. Herb’s son Jeff grew flowers for a time and sold them to Berens Flower Gardens.

Jon Berens, another of Herb’s sons, purchased the wholesale portion of the business in 2000, changing its name to Outback Greenhouse. Herb retired in 2013 and sold the retail portion to Jon, who’s run it ever since.

According to Kathie Berens, the family was and is involved in all aspects of the business.

Jon grows the flowers and manages the wholesale, while his sister Jacquie manages the retail business with support from Kathie. Through the years, many other Berens family members have gotten their hands dirty at the greenhouse as well.

Judging by the company’s continued growth, it’s safe to say the business model is working.

Kathie Berens said the business started with about 9,000-square-feet of greenhouses and currently they are just shy of four acres and 170,570-square-feet of greenhouses.

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Another unique aspect of the business is the Berens’ personal attention to each customer.

“We are one of very few retail centers that customers can bring in their containers and walk out with an original product designed by our retail staff,” Kathie Berens said.

Berens said the plan is to celebrate the shop's 50th anniversary throughout the year by wearing new 50th anniversary t-shirts and more.

To learn more, visit outbackgreenhouse.com.

— Contact reporter Austin Metz at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Zeeland's Outback Greenhouse celebrates 50 year anniversary