By Maria Cook
Brehob Nursery, a wholesale nursery that specializes in selling plants to landscaping companies, is celebrating its 50th year of business. John W. Brehob opened Brehob’s first Indianapolis location in 1969. In 1999, he opened a second location in Westfield. This year marks the Westfield location’s 20th year.
Brehob Nursery Purchasing Manager Annette Hancock said the company has enjoyed steady business and repeat customers through the years.
“Our culture of doing business hasn’t changed much,” Hancock said. “We’ve got a lot of long-term employees here. I’ve been here for 20 years and some are closer to 30. The biggest change is that the last owner sold the company in 2016, so there’s new ownership. Other than that, in the last 20 years, we’ve had the same customer base.”
When Brehob’s Westfield store opened in 1999, its nursery farm spanned 65 acres. The space has expanded by more than 20 acres in the last 20 years and is mainly used to grow trees in pot-in-pot sockets. The Westfield location’s office is at 4867 Sheridan Rd. Brehob’s Indianapolis location still operates on the city’s south side, and its farm is approximately 400 acres.
Brehob’s owner, Tony Schwope, who owns several nurseries in Kansas City, southern Illinois and Oregon, bought the business from John S Brehob, the son of Brehob nursery’s original founder. Hancock said Brehob Nursery still operates on the same customer-first principles that have always guided the business.
“We’re a smaller, family owned business that really just strives to offer the best quality plants and the best service, and that’s always been what we’ve done,” Hancock said. “That’s basically what we’re known for. We have a lot of customers who are long-term customers, so we pride ourselves on taking care of those customers.”
