A Year after Arson, Maple Grove’s Lynde Greenhouse Still Rebuilding
With Halloween in the rearview mirror, Christmas decorations are now filling the retail floor at Lynde Greenhouse and Nursery in Maple Grove.
“Definitely a transition period. It’s getting cold, winter’s on the way,” said Derek Lynde, president of Lynde Greenhouse and Nursery.
Yet for Lynde, his business is in a transition period in more ways than one.
“It’s a daily grind to get back to where we were, now close to 13 months ago,” he said.
On Oct. 2, 2022, a fire intentionally-set by three juveniles destroyed the warehouse, loading dock and storage area, among other things.
Lynde didn’t mince words when asked to describe the experience.
“A nightmare, to be perfectly honest,” he said. “I still walk through the new building and think that it’s not real.”
Lynde has worked tirelessly over the last 13 months to get this place back to being a functioning greenhouse.
“The things that a greenhouse needs to be good at, we’re trying to figure out on the fly,” he said.
It’s been a stressful process, to say the least. However, much of his efforts are finally starting to take shape.
Derek Lynde shows off the new warehouse that’s currently under construction.
“This will essentially be kind of a new warehouse type space for us,” Lynde said, showing off a building that’s still under construction.
Lynde’s is still months away from having this new warehouse up and running, but heating systems are installed, floors are in place, and there’s a roof over their heads — an indicator that there’s a proverbial light at the end of a long, bumpy tunnel.
“If I’ve made it this far, why turn back now,” Lynde said. “And the show of support that I’ve seen, not only from the community, but the employees that are here; nobody, nobody got frustrated and decided to leave because it was too hard. So I’ve got to do it for them.”
Lynde says he’s cautiously optimistic that his staff will be able to move into the new offices and break room in the next couple of months. His hope is that they’ll be able to start growing plants in the new space by March or April.
Related: Massive Fire Severely Damages Maple Grove’s Lynde Greenhouse
