AMARILLO
A few years back I made a promise to visit every Greenleaf
Wholesale location. Out of 16 stores, I had not visited Amarillo,
Albuquerque or Texarkana, until last week; instead of going to WFFSA,
(which I heard was a good show), I flew to Amarillo, Texas.
Greenleaf
Amarillo is run by Gary Dunn with a crew of 6 and is the definition of doing a
lot of work to sell flowers.
Amarillo has a population of 150,000 and
four in-town flower shops. For Gary and his crew to be profitable, they
have to drive 2 to 3 hours in each direction to service the small towns
surrounding Amarillo. It is hard to believe but in the same day, Gary’s
drivers could be in 4 states: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico or
Colorado. If you are a grower, you might appreciate that
someone else works as hard as you do to deliver beautiful flowers.
BIG TEXAN
I was only in Amarillo for a short time, but I think I took
advantage of many of its pleasures. The hotel I stayed in offered
complimentary cocktails, not just one, but 3 each day. I felt like I was
at WFFSA.
Of course, I had to go to the Big Texan to have a steak. I
didn’t have the 72 ounce steak, but I saw it. The 72 ounce steak is
free if you can eat it in an hour, plus all the side dishes. If you don’t
finish the steak, you have to pay $72. I should have tried it
anyway. In California, a little steak can cost $72.
On the way out
of town on Interstate 40, I stopped by the Cadillac Ranch made famous by Bruce
Springsteen. I enjoyed walking around the Cadillacs, it is clever and
iconic. I am trying to decide what we can artistically bury on the side
of the greenhouse, maybe some gerbera carts.
RHK
