PORT ANGELES — Gross’s Nursery-Florist is closing, and the long-standing Port Angeles business is offering discounts to clear its remaining stock.
Store Manager Jill Walrath said the business is closing because the owner, Todd Holm, died in August.
Holm’s heirs, who live out of state, intend to liquidate the business and sell the property at 826 E. First St., Walrath said.
“We don’t have an end date, but we’re hoping to be done by the end of the year,” Walrath said.
“I promised that I would see things through to the end.”
Gross’s is selling its nursery stock, including trees, shrubs, perennial plants and outdoor pots, at 50 percent discounts.
Home decor, including indoor house plants and Christmas items, are 20 percent off.
The floral section of the business has already shut down.
“Everything must go,” Walrath said.
Gross’s is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Holm died in his home Aug. 19 at the age of 59, according to his obituary.
A floral designer, Holm purchased the store with his late mother, Shirley Ward, in 1975. The site was occupied by Gross’s Nursery and Pet Store prior to that.
The pet shop was soon phased out, and the floral businesses took its place.
“He labored all those years,” Walrath said of Holm.
“He’s done most everything here.”
Walrath said she would likely find another job in the floral business.
As for Gross’s longtime customers, Walrath said: “They’re just sad to see the business go.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
