ABINGDON — On March 23, 2019, Garden Gate suffered a loss when their building caught on fire due to an accidental brush fire from a neighboring property. Since that time, the owners, Mike and Ashley Anderson, have been busy rebuilding, and the new building is officially open. The new building is at 104 S. Monroe St. in Abingdon, directly west of the old shop.
“It feels great to be in the new building,” Ashley Anderson said. “We were previously operating out of a home next door after the fire while we built the new building.”
A grand opening and ribbon cutting will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12.
“State Rep. Norine Hammond will be here as well as Abingdon Mayor Myron Hovind and other city officials to cut the ribbon at 5:30 p.m.,” Anderson said. “We will be open for the public to look at the new store and browse our new inventory. We will also be serving light refreshments and snacks.”
Customers can check out some of the new inventory while there.
“We have several new product lines that we have been researching and testing while we were building the new store,” Anderson said. “We have new lotions that heal your skin, a new coffee line that also gives back to a regional pet rescue, local and school-affiliated apparel and more, plus inventory lines that our customers have always enjoyed, and new spring items to decorate your home and your yard. We will soon be building our new greenhouse that will offer vegetable plants and bedding plants for this spring.”
Anderson and her husband became the owners of Garden Gate in July 2018. She has thoroughly enjoyed owning and operating the shop.
“It has been great continuing the history of being the only locally- and family-owned flower shop in Knox County for over 45 years,” she said. “We weren’t anticipating having such a loss after only eight months of becoming the owners, but we like to look at this all in a positive light. The fire has allowed us to grow and move to a more visible location. It’s allowed us to build a new store that enhances the community, while better suiting our needs as well. It’s been a long road, but also a blessing in disguise.”
Garden Gate is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The business is open by appointment on Sundays. They deliver floral arrangements, plants and gifts to the regional area including Knox, Warren and Fulton counties.
“We create beautiful floral arrangements and centerpieces for weddings and parties,” Anderson said. “Our shop also has a large selection of gifts and home décor to choose from. We even service our local and long-distance customers by decorating loved ones’ grave sites with tombstone saddles, hanging baskets and vases.”
