by Claire Redinger, reporter
OMAHA – Most people would probably agree that a global pandemic is a less-than ideal time to open a new business. In fact, a survey conducted by the Nebraska Business Development Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in April, reported that 87% of Nebraska businesses had seen a negative effect in sales due to COVID-19.
Despite the negative statistic, Omaha business owner Christina Mainelli decided to proceed with opening her shop, The Greenhouse. Since opening in August, she has been pleasantly surprised with the customer turnout, she said.
“Because of COVID I didn’t know what the response was going to be. I didn’t know if people were still staying at home and would prefer to just do things online,” Mainelli said. “That first weekend I was open [in August], was crazy. I was almost completely cleaned out after the weekend, so that was really great.”
The Greenhouse is a boutique plant store that sells houseplants, pots, macrame hangers, plant accessories and other goods from Omaha makers. Prior to opening the brick and mortar store, Mainelli was operating The Greenhouse as a plant servicing company, arranging florals for weddings, teaching workshops and selling at pop-ups. Despite the circumstances, she said she knew it was the right time to open her store based on current market trends.
“I know that when we first started doing this four years ago, the plant craze was kind of starting to take off, especially in bigger cities. And now, you know, everything kind of takes a little while to get to Nebraska. But, now that it’s here, it’s so true,” Mainelli said. “I have so many people who come in and they’ve never bought a plant before and they want something they know they won’t kill, or they’re trying to add to their collections.”
Mainelli said someday she hopes to teach workshops, and use her shop as a pop-up space for other Omaha makers. Until then, she is working on building her online shop as it gets closer to the holidays.
