The Plant Foundry announces big move on Broadway

After nearly three years of waiting and planning, moving day has finally arrived for The Plant Foundry.

On Thursday, the destination nursery in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood formally announced its last day at 3500 Broadway will be Sunday, May 24.

In preparation for the move, everything in stock (except gift cards) is on sale, discounted 25%.

“The more we sell, the less we have to move,” says owner Angela Pratt. “And we’ll do a big restock once we’re settled in at our new location.”

After Sunday, Pratt and her crew don’t have much time to pack. Demolition of their nursery site and building is scheduled to start June 1. The property’s owner plans to build a three-story mixed-use development on the triangular site at Broadway and 35th Street.

Beloved for its selection of water-wise plants and great garden gifts, The Plant Foundry won’t be going far. Its new site – a former drive-in restaurant with mid-century vibes – is about a block away and across the street. When will it open? As soon as possible, Pratt adds.

Customers will find many of the same features they love about The Plant Foundry at the new site – and more of it. Its new home has more space (including room for parking).

But one longtime fixture will be missing: Aretha the nursery cat. The popular feline is getting a new home, away from Broadway’s busy traffic.

Pratt took a few minutes out from packing to answer questions about The Plant Foundry’s big move:

How long have you been at that location? Why are you moving?

The Plant Foundry has been in Oak Park at 3500 Broadway for over 10 years. We had hopes of buying the property, but when the subject was broached, we learned that our landlord had plans to develop his property. It will become a mixed-use development.

We were offered an opportunity to become the main anchor tenant at the new development, but we didn’t know what our rent would be, and our overall space would have been reduced and the new building design layout wasn’t conducive to nursery deliveries.

We were thrilled to find a suitable property only one block from our current location that was for sale. It was being marketed as a potential “beer garden”… so why not “garden center”?! Kudos and thanks to Greg Howes, my friend and colleague, for suggesting we look at 3621, even before we found out our lease was ending. He must be a little bit psychic. It took us two and a half years to close escrow, due to issues on the sellers’ end.

I also have to thank my rockstar agent, Kimberly Peterson at Grounded Real Estate. Longest escrow ever!

What we had hoped was a light to medium fixer, ended up needing a new roof, new electrical, new indoor plumbing, new sewer line, new heating and air, etc. The building itself is a solid piece of 1965 mid-century history that began as an Arctic Circle Drive-In. Having been born in 1965 myself, I’d say we both have vintage charm worth preserving.

Gaining City approval to install an 8-foot curve top fence was a huge win, and an absolute necessity. We hope to have the fence up very soon, so we can resume selling outside while our building is being finished.

Due to our landlord’s construction schedule, we are relocating before our new property is ready. But we have accomplished a lot since our building plans were approved, and we are extremely motivated to get up and running again as quickly as possible.

We are working with the talented and friendly professionals at Maxton Builders, Toledo Landscape, Creative Eye Design, Varitec Systems, and  Klima Land Surveys, and we are very excited that John Dozier will be creating our building signage soon. After the financial dust settles, we will start saving up for a mural and a marquee, in addition to some fun landscaping at the front of the property.

Due to our requirement to vacate 3500 sooner than we wanted, we may need to be “ugly open” for awhile instead of the normal “soft open.” Setting up a temporary outdoor register is something nurseries do all the time, and it will be necessary while the building is being finished.

What’s the address for the new location? Is it a bigger space?

3621 Broadway. The overall space is larger than our old location! Our current location is .28 acres with a 1,000-square-foot building, and our new location is .41 acres with a 1,272-square-foot building.

That said, part of that space will be dedicated to long-desired amenities such as a parking lot with 12 spaces, an office and employee break room, and an ADA bathroom for customers and employees.

We’re super excited to be in a space that has proper lighting and is climate controlled! We worked with SMUD to switch the building over to all electric energy-efficient mini splits, etc. All of the things we always wanted to do at 3500 but weren’t able to as tenants, we are doing in our permanent home at 3621 Broadway. 

I heard that Aretha the cat may not be making the move but has a new home waiting. How old is she? How long has she been a nursery cat?

Our shop cat Aretha is so beloved by our customers and neighbors. She showed up at the nursery on September 4, 2018 … shortly after we all lost the iconic singer Aretha Franklin. So that makes her 8 years old. We decided to name our shop cat Aretha in Aretha Franklin’s honor. Two queens. 

As much as we wanted to bring Aretha with us to 3621, we know she would have tried to cross Broadway to go back to 3500 (and to see her ladies at Evergreen Salon). For her safety, we decided she will live with my brother Daniel in the Arden area. Daniel has a home with a big backyard, in a quiet neighborhood, and he grows catnip and has a catio. Aretha has stayed with him before, once when she was spayed, and once when she was recovering from an illness. He has often visited her at the nursery, and they have developed a special bond.

Aretha has an Instagram (@arethafranklincat) and Daniel will be posting updates on how she’s enjoying retirement life in the burbs.

One more question: When do you expect the new location to open for business?

We hope to be open in two to four weeks, and will post progress updates to Instagram and Facebook (@plantfoundry). We will be having a ribbon cutting ceremony with our District 5 representative Caity Maple, and a grand reopening celebration with food and music. Dates are TBD, so follow our socials to stay in the know.