Sperbeck's Nursery downsizing but not closing

A notorious bloom of color and foliage on the west side of Highway 99 is moving to a smaller and less visible location.

The economy has forced Sperbeck's Nursery & Landscape Center to move across the alley to 1332 Woodward St., said co-owner and landscape designer Chris Sperbeck. It took an outpouring of community support to renew the owners' faith and stop them from closing the doors entirely.

As the store worked to clear out inventory on Onstott Road south of Highway 20 in the last several months, residents continued to express concern, which reaffirmed the business made the right decision, Sperbeck said. The move should be complete within the next two weeks.

"They were grieving, thinking that we were dying, that they were losing us," she said.

Customers need not fear. The large ceramic pots, towering trees and endless assortment of plants and flowers will remain nearby, just with smaller inventory.

The move should save Sperbeck's a lot of money — including $5,000 in monthly overhead by moving out of the building it rented from Caltrans, Sperbeck said.

"As long as we are able to be up and running, yes, we will be here," she said. "We are hoping everybody will come and find us."

Prior recessions and the arrival of Home Depot, Lowe's and other big-box store nurseries are no comparison to current economic challenges, Sperbeck said. The business, a Yuba City fixture for 23 years, has ran in the red for two years, ever since the economy started diving.

As the recession hit home-gardeners' pockets and swallowed their discretionary income, it dealt a large blow to nursery sales and landscaping services. Sperbeck was left to throw out dead plants and stare at unsold goods.

"A nursery is as good as their perishables, just like a grocery store," Sperbeck said. "They sit on the shelves for a few weeks or months and it just looks old and tired."

Sperbeck's continued following industry trends, scaling back on bareroot trees, bulbs and backyard fruit trees and increasing organics and utility trees. But it was no match for the economy.

So Sperbeck turned to customers. After starting a 40 percent off sale in November, she asked residents what future they saw and wanted for her business.

Hundreds and hundreds of people responded, she said.

"It was so heartwarming and encouraging to hear the comments and get the sales and the response to our business," she said.

Darin Gale, Yuba City's economic development director, said Sperbeck's move is a success story, in a way.

"It's very encouraging to see a business like that look to downsize to maintain themselves in a tough economy," he said.

Businesses like Sperbeck's are the "economic engine" of this community, with at least 80 percent of employees being employed by small and locally owned businesses, he said. It's great to see stores reaching out, because customers can be the solution.

"The customers want to know the struggles of local businesses and they don't always understand it," he said.