Patt buys Country Way Nursery
By CHRIS CLINE
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, July 30, 2009
Updated: Thursday, July 30, 2009 11:58 AM CDT
Updated: Thursday, July 30, 2009 11:58 AM CDT
Robin Patt (right) inspects some plants as her husband Duane (left) looks on at Country Way Nursery. - Chris Cline / Daily Journal
BONNE TERRE — When it rains Duane Patt gets antsy.
His wife Robin said her husband has bought items like trucks and tractors during his down time, but the purchase he made this spring took her by surprise. Duane decided to buy a business. The landscaper purchased Country Way Nursery from long-time owner Joe Stone.
“Joe had been on me about buying the business about six months and this time he caught me in the right mood,” Duane said. “I get bored when it rains. I always need to be doing something.”
Stone said it was an opportune time to sell the business.
“I needed to retire,” he said. “Duane and Robin are very energetic and are willing to please their customers. They are doing a fine job and are taking care of the customers very well. I encourage folks to continue doing business with Country Way.”
Duane has been in the landscaping profession since 2001. He said his grandfather got him into the line of work.
“I started doing landscaping and excavation work in 2001,” Duane said. “I got tired of ordering from another nursery, so I opened my own.”
The Patts own and operates D&S Landscaping and Nature Scapes in Terre Du Lac. Nature Scapes opened in 2005.
“We do a lot of irrigation work,” Duane said. “We haul topsoil, build retaining walls, dig basements, do hydroseeding and install sod. We are a full service landscaping and nursery business. I have always enjoyed working with people and making things.”
Country Way Nursery is located in Bonne Terre and offers a full array of plants, perennials shrubs as well as other items to make your lawn and garden complete.
Duane said if he’s not working seven days a week, he’s not happy.
“Our repeat customers keep us in business,” he said. “We are very big on customer service. That’s why the merger with Country Way is so good. Country Way is an established business that has provided a high level of customer service for years. That’s a tradition that we will continue.”
Duane said he intends to make some major price drops to Country Way’s inventory. He claims to be a bargain shopper and says he will pass along the savings to his customers.
He has plans to reopen the nursery in Terre Du Lac next year and hopes to expand to Potosi within the next three years.
“Our goal is to be self-sufficient,” Duane said. “Joe has been in the business for 30 plus years. He has a good clientele built up and we are going to serve his loyal customers. I don’t want to change a whole lot.”
Robin said she is excited the couple’s business has expanded.
“At first I was kind of shocked he (Duane) wanted to do this,” she said. “I had just opened a deli in October (The Corner Deli) at the Terre Du Lac location. We offer homemade soups, sandwiches and deserts. We also recently became new parents.”
Robin’s managerial experience stems from her many years managing the Terre Du Lac Country Club.
“I traded in my high heels for work boots,” she said. “You normally can always find one of us at the businesses. We like to support our local small town businesses. If we can shop local for our supplies, we will.”
She said it’s been an adventure taking on a new business during tough economic times.
“It’s kind of scary, but we are willing to put the hard work in to make it work,” she said. “I hope our little boy decides to follow in our path.”
Duane pointed out that he and his wife kept all of Country Way’s previous employees.
Country Way Nursery is open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. For more information call 573-358-3632.
Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.
His wife Robin said her husband has bought items like trucks and tractors during his down time, but the purchase he made this spring took her by surprise. Duane decided to buy a business. The landscaper purchased Country Way Nursery from long-time owner Joe Stone.
“Joe had been on me about buying the business about six months and this time he caught me in the right mood,” Duane said. “I get bored when it rains. I always need to be doing something.”
Stone said it was an opportune time to sell the business.
“I needed to retire,” he said. “Duane and Robin are very energetic and are willing to please their customers. They are doing a fine job and are taking care of the customers very well. I encourage folks to continue doing business with Country Way.”
Duane has been in the landscaping profession since 2001. He said his grandfather got him into the line of work.
“I started doing landscaping and excavation work in 2001,” Duane said. “I got tired of ordering from another nursery, so I opened my own.”
The Patts own and operates D&S Landscaping and Nature Scapes in Terre Du Lac. Nature Scapes opened in 2005.
“We do a lot of irrigation work,” Duane said. “We haul topsoil, build retaining walls, dig basements, do hydroseeding and install sod. We are a full service landscaping and nursery business. I have always enjoyed working with people and making things.”
Country Way Nursery is located in Bonne Terre and offers a full array of plants, perennials shrubs as well as other items to make your lawn and garden complete.
Duane said if he’s not working seven days a week, he’s not happy.
“Our repeat customers keep us in business,” he said. “We are very big on customer service. That’s why the merger with Country Way is so good. Country Way is an established business that has provided a high level of customer service for years. That’s a tradition that we will continue.”
Duane said he intends to make some major price drops to Country Way’s inventory. He claims to be a bargain shopper and says he will pass along the savings to his customers.
He has plans to reopen the nursery in Terre Du Lac next year and hopes to expand to Potosi within the next three years.
“Our goal is to be self-sufficient,” Duane said. “Joe has been in the business for 30 plus years. He has a good clientele built up and we are going to serve his loyal customers. I don’t want to change a whole lot.”
Robin said she is excited the couple’s business has expanded.
“At first I was kind of shocked he (Duane) wanted to do this,” she said. “I had just opened a deli in October (The Corner Deli) at the Terre Du Lac location. We offer homemade soups, sandwiches and deserts. We also recently became new parents.”
Robin’s managerial experience stems from her many years managing the Terre Du Lac Country Club.
“I traded in my high heels for work boots,” she said. “You normally can always find one of us at the businesses. We like to support our local small town businesses. If we can shop local for our supplies, we will.”
She said it’s been an adventure taking on a new business during tough economic times.
“It’s kind of scary, but we are willing to put the hard work in to make it work,” she said. “I hope our little boy decides to follow in our path.”
Duane pointed out that he and his wife kept all of Country Way’s previous employees.
Country Way Nursery is open 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. For more information call 573-358-3632.
Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.
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