When Mike and Robyn Coughlin met their new granddaughter in England for the first time last June, they came home with more than photographs and souvenirs from their trip abroad.
The Coughlins also came home with a new venture for their 33-year-old business, Oakridge Nursery and Landscaping. And earlier this year, they took action on that idea by erecting a 24- by 24-foot addition that will be used for wine tastings, social gatherings, business meetings and retail gift sales.
“We went to garden centers while we were there and everything you would need – from plants to clothes to gift items and a deli – was all there,” explained Robyn Coughlin. “We’re trying to create a space so groups will want to hold their meetings here.”
The new addition features a corrugated steel ceiling, fireplace, brick and stucco walls and comfortable seating to enjoy a glass of wine and conversation.
The Coughlins are hoping that one-stop concept will catch on at Oakridge Nursery.
“When we first came here, we weren’t even thinking about retail – just landscaping,” Robyn said. But the retail came in the fall of 1987 when main building was constructed. “And hopefully we can (continue to) grow the retail every year to some degree,” Mike added.
Earlier this month, the Brandon City Council granted Oakridge the licenses it needs to serve South Dakota-made wines and malt beverages. The Coughlins plan to feature South Dakota wines, selling it by the glass and bottle.
“This will be a good way to introduce them to tasting wine and South Dakota wines are our main goal (to feature),” Mike said.
Adds Robyn: “We will have more variety of gift items and we’re now handling items to go with the wine products and other items.”
The Coughlins have also hinted at adding deli but no immediate plans are in the works.
“At some point in time, we might want to do a little deli out here, maybe get into some flavored coffees,” Mike said.
“Because it seems everybody walks in with a coffee mug,” Robyn adds.
The Coughlins are hoping to create more traffic at their business by expanding their gift line and adding wine sales.
“We’ve really become a destination point, and not only for the nursery, but for gift items too,” Mike said. “I don’t know what percentage of our business is out of town people, but it’s huge, and we just want to make this a relaxing place for people to come and shop.”
Oakridge’s new addition will get its first test in early June when the Active Generations-organized Garden City Wine Tour will make a stop there for lunch.
The Coughlins will be expanding their business outdoors too, where a patio is planned.
“We want to create an outdoor patio to show what we can do,” Mike said.
Because the industry, Robyn said, has been going that way.
“With the landscaping part of it, it has gotten so much into creating outdoor living areas and kitchens,” she said.
An additional 20- by 30-foot greenhouse for outside bedding plants will be going up on the grounds, Robyn said.
The Coughlins say they have more plans for expansion. “We’d like to extend the greenhouses and make space for (seminar) seating,” Mike said.
Those plans, however, will sit idle until their newest venture is up and running.
“He’s always full of ideas,” Robyn says of her husband. “But his life won’t be long enough to accomplish them all.”
Early on in the operation, Mike was kept busy on landscaping jobs, where he often came up with these new ideas for the business.
“I had all these ideas but no time to implement them,” he said. “Now that I have four guys handling the landscaping, I’m finding out it does take some time to implement them.”
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