The very mention of Monnette’s in the Toledo area often brings to mind visions of fresh fruit, vegetables, deli offerings, and a large variety of flowers and plants for the garden.
John Monnette, Sr., opened the first store on Tremainsville Road in 1951. In the years since, the family added locations on Secor Road in the Trilby neighborhood, on Glendale Avenue in South Toledo, and on Reynolds Road in West Toledo.
The Reynolds Road location closed in June of 2020 after a car went through the front of the store. It briefly reopened in 2023, but closed in December after only three months.
Marc Monnette, who owns both the Glendale Avenue and Secor Road locations, said he purchased the Reynolds Road store from his nephew because of the growth of the greenhouse business at the other two locations.
“Every summer, we had a makeshift greenhouse at Glendale,” Mr. Monnette said. “There is a lot of labor involved putting it up, stocking it, running water lines, and then taking it down. In 2024, the last thing you want for your business is something that is so labor intensive.”
The seasonal greenhouse at the Glendale Avenue store meant the temporary loss of more than a dozen parking spaces each summer, while customer traffic and business in other parts of the store was increasing.
“We have a line of juices that have become extremely popular over the years,” he said. “We have also increased our meats and poultry business. We now employ two full-time juicers and two full-time butchers.
“We decided to use the space that once held our plants to expand the area for those parts of our business,” Mr. Monnette said. “The Reynolds store has allowed us to move and expand our growing greenhouse business and still offer plenty of parking to our customers.”
The greenhouse and garden store is up and running just in time for Mother’s Day. Hanging baskets and planters full of a variety of flowers have taken over most of the 3,500-square-foot greenhouse. More plants are also available in the large outdoor space as well.
“We specialize in plants and flowers for Mother’s Day,” Mr. Monnette said. “We get our flowers and plants from 10 different growers within a 100-mile radius. We have thousands of plants, and the selection constantly changes. We hand-pick all of our flowers at the greenhouses. We do whatever we need to in order to pick the very best ones.”
Pink and purple fuchsia plants in hanging baskets are everywhere. The plants are popular with moms and hummingbirds alike, Mr. Monnette said.
Other flowering plants include New Guinea impatiens, SunPatiens, begonias, geraniums, petunias, and more. Perennial plants like bleeding hearts and coral bells are also available.
“Perennial plants have really become more popular over the years,” Mr. Monnette said. “They grow back every year and you can just add to them each year as well.”
For those looking to start a prolific garden this summer, Monnette’s has early girl, better boy, and beefsteak tomatoes. A variety of peppers, lettuces, and herbs are also available, with more items added daily.
“We have living lettuce bowls with a variety of lettuces that are available and very popular,” Mr. Monnette said. “You can harvest some, and they will grow back. We will also have our herb bowls available soon as well.”
The garden store has been open for a little over a week. Mr. Monnette said it has gone better than expected.
“So far, I would say it has been a huge success,” he said. “We are seeing many familiar faces as well as some new faces. The best part is we are seeing families coming here and it is so fun. Watching the children get involved with gardening. It really is the best part of the business.”
General manager Kyle Ryan believes Monnette’s is growing rapidly because of its products and customer service.
“We have the best, hand-picked selection of flowers and plants around,” Mr. Ryan said. “All of the Monnette’s stores are run by the family. All of the employees are like family, too. Our customers are taken care of like family, by family.”
Sharon Nowak said she has purchased her flowers, plants, and other items from the Glendale Avenue store for years.
“I came here from Glendale to support Monnette’s,” Ms. Nowak said. “I have always gotten the best flowers and plants from them, so I am not going to stop now.”
Richard Thomas said he was driving by and decided to stop.
“I am picking up a few plants to start my garden,” Mr. Thomas said. “I will probably come back to get the rest of what I want to grow. I am impressed by what I am seeing here. It all looks healthy and taken care of.”
Marcia Jones said she had shopped at the store for years before it closed.
“I really missed this store,” Ms. Jones said. “It looks very nice in here, but I wish they would put in the foods, deli, and soups they used to have in here as well.”
Mr. Monnette said there are currently no plans to include the deli and other items in the store.
“There are no plans to reopen the store like it was,” Mr. Monnette said. “I would not say that it is off the table. I would need 40 to 50 people, who would stick around, to staff a new store. That means I would have to hire around 300 people in the end. With Glendale and Secor running so smoothly, I can’t afford to take employees from those locations either.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0