It all started with a big idea at an unexpected time and place.
Lauren Withers had an epiphany one Sunday morning shortly after breakfast, when she headed to Old Towne Nursery in Nipomo—which was going out of business.
“I stopped by for their final clearance sale, and this was my first time there. I had started my own garden at the time, that’s why I went,” Withers said. “I was there so briefly, but I automatically fell in love with the property. I saw so much potential for it. I thought to myself, ‘What a shame it was that they were closing,’ and feared the idea that the land might be used for a parking lot someday.”
“I thought to myself, ‘There can be something bigger here,’” she added.
That “something” became Birchwood Garden Barn & Home, which Withers co-founded with her business partners Howdy and Cyndi Nunez. The trio had looked into opening their own business for years.
“It was never sure what we wanted to open. It was going to be a restaurant for the longest time, but that didn’t pan out,” Withers said. “But as soon as I showed my partners the nursery, they immediately had the same idea I had.”
The idea was to expand the nursery into both an event venue and a spot for people to hang out casually, complete with a gift and coffee shop.
The location has a huge, landscaped yard. It’s like a little paradise with shady nooks and twisting oak trees. Withers and her partners saw an untapped potential in the place.
“Our goal was to make it more of a community spot, a place for people to congregate and enjoy nature. Somewhere people wouldn’t come just to buy trees,” she said. “And seeing this vision come to life has been amazing. Customers have said it feels like a little home front.”
But the nursery aspect of the location hasn’t gone away with Birchwood Garden Barn & Home, Withers explained. Plants are still for sale there, of course.
Withers and her partners did decide to focus in on a particular strain of plants though, she explained.
“We specialize in California native and drought-tolerant plants,” Withers said. “And I realize how ironic it is to say that given the recent rain we’ve been having.”
The large yard at Birchwood can house more than just plants. The team has opened up the yard for special events.
The deck and lawn area at Birchwood are a great location for showers, luncheons, company picnics, birthday parties, and weddings, Withers said.
“Since first opening in October, we haven’t had any weddings yet, but we have some lined up for spring,” she said. “And we already have a lot reserved for this summer, including graduation parties.
“And we aim to charge fairly, as low as possible for us to make a profit,” Withers added, “because we understand that by hosting your event here, that’s already beneficial to us because you’re bringing around 40 people that wouldn’t have come here on their own.”
Birchwood also offers a full catering service for events, but outside catering companies are welcome too.
“A lot of venues expect you to automatically use their catering services, but we don’t push that at all, nor expect it.” Withers said. “We’re open to spreading the wealth with other businesses.”
Birchwood Garden Barn & Home is located at 323 W. Tefft St., Nipomo. For more information, call 723-5012.
Caleb Wiseblood wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Jan 19-26, 2017.