On May 2, 2018, Al’s Garden & Home celebrates its 70th anniversary as a family-owned business this year. Over that time, the company has grown from a single fruit stand in Woodburn to a garden center and grower with four retail locations.
Al and Ann Bigej founded the company in 1948, housing the fruit stand originally in an unused chicken coop along Highway 99E. Their son Jack joined the business in 1959. He had a passion for horticulture and believed they could offer customers both fruit and nursery stock. The business expanded, becoming Al’s Fruit & Shrub Center.
In 1982, the company expanded again by building greenhouses so they could grow plant products to sell to their customers. Today, Al’s has growing facilities in Hubbard, Mt. Angel and Gresham, where they grow 90 percent of the soft-stemmed annuals and perennials they sell at their retail locations. The company is also known for its hanging baskets and poinsettias.
Today, Jack serves as chief executive officer of the company and is joined in the management of the business by three of his children: Chief of Operations Mark Bigej, Chief Financial Officer Darcy Ruef and Chief of Growing Operations Dorothy Russo.
The company added its fourth retail location in Wilsonville last year; the others are in Woodburn, Gresham and Sherwood. The company changed its name to Al’s Garden & Home last year to reflect the breadth of lifestyle products now offered in the four stores.
For more information, call Laura Hammond at 503-726-1162, or email lhammond@als-gardencenter.com
