Lincolnville sprouts a new business
Staff writer
The only “businesses” Lincolnville has at the moment are two gas pumps on the edge of town.
But that will change soon thanks to the hard work of a local 19-year-old.
Emilee Remmers grew up just outside of Lincolnville, as did her boyfriend, Nick Krch.
The two met at Centre High School as their parents had before them.
At Centre, Remmers became active in the school’s Future Farmers of America program at age 16.
“I was on a national team for agronomy and I took horticulture and floriculture,” Remmers said. “I offered to start selling plants through my school greenhouse, and it kind of took off from there.”
Remmers hadn’t originally considered entrepreneurship as a career. Working in real estate or radiology was her initial choice, she said. But her FFA advisers pushed her to continue with her business, and Remmers grew more and more interested in the idea.
Her advisers were “the only teachers that were kind of realistic with me,” she said. “I was not a big school person. I just wanted to be in the greenhouse.”
Remmers won start-up money through FFA competition, where her plant business was pitted against others at the district, state, and national level.
“They judged us based on who knows more about their business, who spent the most time, and who got [the most] technical with their business,” Remmers said. “They interviewed us, too.”
Remmers began work on a brick-and-mortar business soon after graduation, purchasing a building on Lincolnville’s Main St. last month.
“I thought about going to college for a while, but I knew this is what I wanted to do,” she said. “Why not go ahead and start it?”
The building is a fixer-upper; it has gaps in the wall and lacks a floor in places. But Remmers and Krch are working hard to get it open as soon as possible.
“I think we’re going to be pouring concrete next week,” Remmers said, gesturing to the floor. “I’m hoping to have a grand opening in a month.”
The building may not be fully complete for the opening.
“We’re hoping to get it just enough so she can start selling stuff,” Krch said.
Remmers recently renamed the business “Em’s Sprouts and Stems.” It originally was “Em’s Little Sprouts.”
The shop will focus on houseplants and home-grown flowers, as well as offer “aromatic bouquets” made of dill, lemon, or lavender. Remmers’ flowers are in seed trays for now; she plans to get them into the ground soon.
Remmers hopes her focus on houseplants will help her stand out in contrast to other garden shops in the county, most of which cater to larger, outdoor gardens.
For someone so young, one would think starting a business in such a remote area would come with a lot of stress, or at least added pressure to succeed.
But Remmers isn’t worried. She has worked a lot in her young life — four years at a veterinary clinic in Marion, two years at a flower shop in Herington, a summer at Serenity Gardens, on and off as a waitress at Al’s Cafe — and is confident in her ability to grow and thrive.
As for setting up in Lincolnville, Remmers has been encouraged by the response from locals.
“Most of them are excited to finally have something,” she said.