Village Green Home & Garden, which is celebrating 60 years in business in Rockford, is up for sale

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Village Green Home & Garden, a locally owned company celebrating 60 years in the community, has put its Riverside Boulevard property and business up for sale.

The 6.3-acre site at 6101 E. Riverside Blvd. is the longstanding flagship location for Village Green’s nursery, greenhouse, garden center and patio and home furnishing sales. The asking price is $4.6 million for both the business and the property, and it’s listed through Jennifer Berry of Gambino Realtors.

Village Green’s other property, at 2640 N. Main St., was previously put on the market after closing at the end of September. The Riverside location was first listed in November as part of the owners’ long-term exit strategy.

Sisters Cynthia E. Smith and Dr. Carolyn S. Smith inherited Village Green after the death of their father, Laurence P. Smith, in April 2020. They had set an internal target to operate the company for three to five years before looking to turn it over to new owners.

“We’re in year five and our 60th year and we thought it was time to start exploring those possibilities,” Cynthia Smith told the Rock River Current. “Selling anything these days takes time, and we just felt it was prudent to start down that path as we get to that timeline that we had set internally.”

Village Green was founded in 1965 with its first location on Center Terrace, and the Riverside Boulevard store has been in business since the 1980s, Cynthia Smith said. Development in that stretch of Riverside has blossomed over the past 40 years, and the Smiths understand that a future buyer may want the land for something other than a home and garden center.

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“It might be challenging, given the economics, for it to continue to run as this business,” Cynthia Smith said. “We hope it does, but recognize there may be other development opportunities that are suited for this location because the landscape around us has changed dramatically.”

For now, Village Green will continue to operate as usual with a focus on its busy spring season and its upcoming 60th anniversary celebrations.

“Our father was a visionary,” Cynthia Smith said . “To build a business that can endure for 60 years is quite a feat in light of constant competition from the big box chain stores and on-line marketplaces.”

Village Green earned several retail industry awards over the years, including the Apollo Award from the International Casual Furnishing Association to recognize retail excellence in the sales and marketing of outdoor furnishings in 2016, 2019 and 2023. It was also one of 10 retailers nationwide to receive the 2023 Lawn and Garden Retailer Innovator Award for “excelling in customer education, social media innovation, providing a memorable customer experience, commitment to their local community and offering new and exciting plant offerings.”

“The business wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for our loyal Village Green employees – some of whom have been here for decades – and for our faithful customers who continue to see the value of buying local and supporting this family business,” Carolyn Smith said.

The 60th anniversary party on Saturday includes special sales on some of Larry Smith’s favorite annuals, including rex begonias, and other select perennials and nursery items. There is also a special Larry Lager made in honor of the business’s longtime owner that was created by Urban Forest Craft Brewing. That dark Czech lager will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and the Disco Chicken food truck will serve from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A surprise musical guest, the name of which has not been announced, is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday.

“Our focus right now continues to be business as usual,” Cynthia Smith said. “We want to get through the spring and our 60th year, see what comes of any offers and see what the next steps are.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas