Today we’d like to introduce you to Ozzy Gamez and Juan Quezada.
Ozzy and Juan, please share your story with us.
I was born in Belize, Juan was born in Mexico. And as we get older, we realize how much of our homeland we miss; especially being surrounded by nature. Being surrounded by houseplants and plants, in general, brings us closer to the places we came from.
That realization sparked a heavy interest which then turned into more than a hobby.
For us, watching plants grow, change, and adapt to our living spaces is very therapeutic, motivating and inspiring. And we wanted to offer that to our community. So, we decided to open a plant shop focused on plants that we can all grow indoors so that everyone can experience the beautiful secret life of plants.
Has it been a smooth road?
From the time, we decided on opening a plant shop to actually going through with it and opening doors have been pretty smooth. The reason being is that we had so much help from friends and family. Things lined up almost perfectly. We are forever grateful to everyone that helped out.
That being said, getting to that point, where we decided to open up a plant shop has been full of obstacles and challenges. We are two latino immigrants growing up in Chicago, having to join a work force that doesnt welcome you with open arms or even an open door. There were and are many obstacles, which we have learned to see as opportunities to learn something new and grow. It leads us to this point.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Plant Shop Chicago story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a small nursery, with a heavy focus on plants that you can grow indoors year round.
We always try to find plants that are rare, as well as the more common varieties.
There is something for everyone at Plant Shop Chicago, you could be looking for your 1st plant or your 100th plant. We’ll try our best to help you find just that.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We think the big change is happening now if you would have asked someone in the industry 5/10 years ago what they hoped for, this is it.
People are starting to show their profound interest in houseplants and plants in general. I don’t think its a new found interest, but something that has always been there in a lot of us. The thing that is new about it is social media and Instagram.
People all over the world are starting to show off their plants, and what is common to some areas is rare to others.
And we always want the things we can’t easily have.
Plant mail is becoming more common, so in 5-10 years the industry will be a lot more competitive.
Plant shopping will be hopping on an app and ordering a plant. But, I really hope not, because there is something magical about walking into a nursery. Inspecting and comparing plants, and even leaving without buying the one you wanted; that regret is a beautiful feeling.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4601 N Elston Ave
Chicago, IL 60630 - Website: plantshopchicago.com
- Phone: 872-212-5827
- Email: info@plantshopchicago.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/plantshopchicago
- Facebook: facebook.com/plantshop[chicago
- Twitter: @plantshopchi
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/plant-shop-chicago-chicago?osq=plant+shop+chicago
Image Credit:
Sergey Kolivayko, Ozzy Gamez
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