Thursday, December 10, 2009

Storey's Garden Center Faces Make It or Break It Season

Portland Daily Sun:
This month, Elliot Storey will know whether he can
keep his garden-center business afloat without access to a key Christmas tree
lot that his family has used for 20 years. For the first time in two decades,
Storey’s Garden Center is not selling Christmas trees at Lib’s Ice Cream Center
at the Northgate Shopping Plaza in the North Deering neighborhood. Just weeks
before the Christmas tree season, he explains, the lot owner informed him that
rent was jumping from $2,000 to $8,000 for the season. "As a small business
owner, I can’t afford that," Storey said.
In the article, Storey floats the theory that a falling out with a former business partner may be the reason for the 400% hike in rent at the location where 65-75% of his company's Christmas trees had been sold each year.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: On Maine Christmas Trees (December 7, 2009)

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