After 100 Years Of Business, Linder's Closes Its Doors

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For 100 years, gardeners have gone there for everything from seed to soil. But the venerable business will now close its doors.

Linder's posted a message to its patrons on Wednesday, thanking them for their patronage and announcing the decision to close.

"The Linder family has made the decision to close Linder's Greenhouses Inc. We will be having an orderly wind down of the business in the coming weeks. We would like to thank all our customers, our staff and the Twin Cities community for their support in our 100+ years of business," the message read.

The garden center first began as a celery farm back in 1910, and it then became one of the most popular nurseries in the metro.

Four-generation owner Dave Linder Jr. said the store sells 80 percent of its products in the spring, but this year's delayed warm-up took a huge toll on business.

"We all knew we were going through some tough times with the bad spring and the economy," Linder said, "but I don't think anybody expected something like this to happen. A lot of tears shed."

Ninety-year-old customer Mary Engebregson said she almost cried when she heard the news Tuesday night.

"I was just sad," she said.

Another customer, Elaine, said she started a vegetable garden in 1955, and only shopped at Linder's. All her children, she said, shopped there, too.

"You like these kind of family owned businesses," Elaine said. "It's really very sad...you think of the generations that have been here...and it was so sudden."

Still, customers could find deals Wednesday, as everything in the store is 50 percent off. The owners say they'll stay open until everything is gone. With the way business has been, they estimate it'll be about four weeks until the doors close for good.