A growing demand for fresh, local produce has created a welcome problem for Great Lakes Growers: The four-year-old Burton Township company can’t expand fast enough.
John Bonner, of Burton Township, and his business partner, Tim Ryan, of Bainbridge Township, started their company in 2011 with a lot of optimism and a 300-square-foot greenhouse.
“I went to school for finance and economics, and worked for Merrill Lynch for a while, but couldn’t stay away from the greenhouse business for long,” Bonner said.
So, Bonner and Ryan had an idea to grow high quality, chemical-free salad greens to supply to area restaurants and health conscious consumers.
They built a small greenhouse near Bonner’s home, planted the lettuce, tended it carefully and waited patiently to see the results.
“When you do something new with plants, there’s a lot of waiting,” Bonner explained. “There’s no instant gratification in this business.”
Bonner knew the process of planting, tending and waiting patiently to see the results of a lot of hard work. His family developed Eagle Creek, a massive commercial greenhouse in Bainbridge, and ran a wholesale greenhouse in Mantua, which he operated before deciding to start his own company with Ryan.
Over the last four years, Great Lakes Growers lettuce has taken root, so to speak, in high end grocery chains such as Heinen’s, Giant Eagle and Mustard Seed, discount “big box” stores such as Costco and restaurants including Bass Lake Taverne.
They quickly had to expand their greenhouse to 55,000 square feet and hire some helpers.
“People are an important part of our success,” Bonner said. “We now have 17 full-time employees and are building a team of people who care about what they do.”
Semi-rural Geauga County was the perfect place to find workers who knew their way around plants, and Bonner and Ryan decided to create a working environment that was fun and paid well.
“We have very low turnover; our employees enjoy what they do,” said Bonner.
Workers take turns deciding what music to play over the company’s sound system. Bonner said he wasn’t sure whether the music helps the plants grow, but it creates a pleasant work environment.
The company has expanded its product line to include herbs such as basil and mint.
“We saw this market as a huge opportunity because more and more people, especially the millennials, want more local produce,” he said. “All market segments are growing, so we had to expand again.”
Because lettuce and herbs need different growing environments, the company had to add an additional greenhouse, which they quickly outgrew, and are building another.
Geauga County loaned them $250,000 from its revolving loan fund to help pay for the new building.
The fund, approved by the Geauga County Commissioners, lends money to local businesses that are expanding and adding new jobs. Bonner said his company will add another 13 employees when the new greenhouse is completed.
The new greenhouse will make it possible for the plants to move gradually on a conveyor system, beginning with seedlings and ending with plants ready to harvest. The plants are then carefully packed and loaded onto a delivery truck.
“This lettuce will be in the store by this afternoon,” Bonner said, as workers packed the truck with fresh picked lettuce.
The company grows eight types of fancy leaf lettuce, and ships the living plants with the roots still intact.
He praised the county for its support of local businesses.
“Geauga County has been great,” Bonner said. “They are showing confidence in local business owners who are expanding their customer bases and number of employees. It’s a great plan.”
