MUSKEGON, Mich — A string of burglaries has put a damper on business for Ole Henry Gardens in Muskegon. Owners say the store has been broken into twice this week.
“We had 20 some baskets of those taken that one night,” says Tom Buday.
Buday runs the flower and garden center with his brother. Turns out, theft is something he’s dealt with for a long time.
“We had bricks going through our windows, we had lawn mowers taken out," he says. “I couldn’t really give no years, I wanna say 20 years.”
Buday says people are jumping over his fence, filling carts full of hanging baskets and other plants and unloading them to take on the other side of his gate.
“We see trails of flowers going over the bridge where they’re carrying them out.”
He says the theft has made him hesitant to set up displays, taking away potential customers that drive by. Plus, it's making things more expensive for customers, forcing Buday to up his prices to cover the loss.
They’ve tried to address it in the past, like the time they hired a security guard.
“We’ve had one in here that was asleep, which is kind of comical, that was back some time, and now we don’t have the finances."
So, Buday and his brother look to other solutions, like barbed wire and a floodlight. That light is responsible for waking up whichever brother is spending the night at the garden center.
“It’s hard to stay here until like one or two in the morning and then come to work and have a good day.”
Originally the brothers alternated nights and both took Sundays off, but now they alternate who takes the fourth shift each week.
“We kind of decided that everybody is more reverent on Sundays," Buday says, "but we found out that’s the night they hit the most.“
But even with the years of frustration, Tom says he wouldn’t trade Ole Henry for the world.
“If I didn’t love it," Buday says, "I don’t think I’d do it.”
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