BWI CUSTOMER PROFILE
LUKAS NURSERY By Ashley Gardner
T
he Lukas family has been farming the fertile land in the heart of Florida for four generations. The result of their efforts is Lukas Nursery, a bustling family garden center that carries anything and everything that will grow in their region from basic plants to exotic flowers. Their property is also home to a 4,000 square-foot butterfly conservatory called the Butterfly Encounter, an exhibit that features all of the state’s native butterflies. “We are a retail family garden center,” said Cecelia Lukas, who handles accounts payable and receivable and ordering for the family business. “We’ve been farming the same land for over 100 years. Our great grandmother and great grandfather came from Cleveland, Ohio. They pioneered this area where we’re at.” The Lukas family evolution as farmers started simply. “When our ancestors came down, they made a humble living through agriculture.
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They started out growing crops like celery. As things changed they went from row crops to ornamentals, trees, shrubs, and palms,” said Caleb Lukas, bookkeeper for Lukas Nursery. “We do have a sense of pride about it. It’s not like we’ve just moved along with the winds of time. We’ve been able to stand steadfast in the same location and maintain those agriculture roots and values.” In typical fashion for a family-run business, Caleb and Cecelia pitched in from a very young age. They were put to work in the nursery shortly after they started walking. “Often time we get asked when we started working here at the nursery. We laugh and scratch our heads because we don’t really know how old we were. It was when we were old enough to start pulling weeds,” Caleb said with a laugh. “We literally learned from the ground up. Our family members planted us as little seeds, and now we’ve sprouted and
grown to become the tree and keep the business going.” That connection with their business has helped Lukas Nursery fight off the competition from big box stores that are located within a mile or two of them. “We’ve been able to stand the test of time from those challenges. A big reason why is due to customer satisfaction,” Caleb said. The customer experience is a focus for the Lukas family and their employees. They provide clients with a wealth of knowledge about the plants and products they sell. “One of the things we hold ourselves accountable for is customer experience. We strive to provide them with expertise. People may not know anything about plants or gardening products but when they come here they know they are going to get
