Northeast Oregon Now’s “Business Spotlight” highlights a local business in the greater Hermiston area. Know of a great local business in the community? Feel free to let us know about it at neonow@outlook.com
HERMISTON, Ore.-Family-owned and operated for 48 years, Kopacz Nursery and Florist has everything for your garden, from plants, trees and shrubs, to vegetables, seeds, pots and bulk items.
“‘Where flowers are our business’ is our motto and it’s true,” said Tania Hoeft, Manager of Kopacz, and daughter of Ray and Sherrie, founders of the nursery. “We’re glad to be here, we love this community.”
Like many successful businesses, Kopacz started with the intention of fulfilling what was considered an unmet need, in this case, a one-stop shop for plants and garden supplies in the Hermiston area.
“There wasn’t really a good nursery at the time, back in 1977, so we made one,” said Ray Kopacz recently as he worked at the nursery. “It was really my wife’s baby.”
The seeds of success
Originally called Kopacz Kountry Nursery, the family business started with Sherrie selling houseplants out of a small greenhouse next to the Kopacz home.
As word of mouth about the quality plants spread and demand grew, so did the need for a larger greenhouse and expanded inventory, so Ray built a bigger greenhouse, and the nursery added annuals.
“It’s a lot of work, it’s not easy running a nursery,” said Hoeft, who grew up around the business and recalls helping by carrying plants and loading vans as a child.
Two years after opening, Kopacz Kountry Nursery moved into Hermiston, renting space near Ace Hardware, and expanding its offerings to include trees and shrubs.
After six years the nursery moved again, this time to Theater Lane, where Ray built a greenhouse in 1981, so plants could be sold throughout the winter. By the mid-1980’s, a florist was added to the nursery, and the name was changed to Kopacz Nursery & Florist.
Along the way the business kept growing and Ray kept building greenhouses to accommodate the demand for plants, flowers, trees, vegetables and garden supplies, with ten greenhouses eventually spread across the Kopacz properties.
“I figured if the bank was going to keep giving, I’d keep building,” Kopacz said with a chuckle.
All that expansion led to Kopacz Nursery & Florist moving into its current building in front of the greenhouses at 465 West Theater Lane in 2006.
Growth
“It’s been a process,” said Tania, who joined the family business around 1998. “Throughout the 1980’s we got established, in the 1990’s we maintained, and in the 2000’s we expanded our services and moved into this building.”
When their new building opened 19 years ago, home décor and gifts were added to the nursery, as well as more garden supplies and Tania’s line of hanging baskets, that customers can bring into the nursery to be filled and reused.
Hoeft’s gardening and arrangement talents have also been noticed around the region, and she does hanging baskets or flower beds for the Cities of Irrigon, Echo, Stanfield and Hermiston, as well as for hotels in Pendleton and the Columbia Gorge.
The nursery started going “heavy on Christmas,” in 2008, according to Tania. “You’ve got to have something to stay busy during the winter, that’s why we originally added the florist and why this place is completely transformed at Christmas.”
Over the years, Kopacz Nursery and Florist has expanded to include bulk products, such as soil, bark and rock, and the nursery delivers to Hermiston, as well as Umatilla, Irrigon, Boardman, Stanfield and Echo.
A family tree
Kopacz was able to stay open during COVID and in a bit of a full-circle moment, the demand for houseplants, the plants that started the nursery in a greenhouse next to the family home, exploded.
Sherrie retired in 2020; however, Ray, now 80, still makes deliveries and works around the nursery, coming in most days.
“He likes to check in on us and make sure we’re doing the job right,” said Hoeft.
Today Kopacz Nursery & Florist is a pillar of the Hermiston community, a third-generation business managed by Hoeft, with six employees, including Kopacz’ granddaughter Callie Hoeft-Sammons.
“I’m happy that my granddaughter is excited to give it a try, we’ve made it to our third generation, so we might stay a while longer,” Kopacz said.
Hoeft-Sammons started working at the nursery in 2020, putting her business degree to work by helping her mother with the technology and marketing side of the business.
“I wasn’t planning to stay, but now I can’t leave,” said Hoeft-Sammons with a chuckle and a smile. “It’s fun, but also frustrating working with my mother.”
Occasional frustrations aside, Kopacz has cultivated the right mix of family, quality products and community to endure, expand and become an institution in the Hermiston community
The future
“We kept at it and eventually you end up here,” Kopacz said as he looked around the nursery on a perfect early summer day.
Kopacz Nursery & Florist now has well-established roots in Hermiston and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2027.
“We hope to maintain our quality and maybe make some improvements here and there as we think about the future and being part of this loving community,” Hoeft said.
Kopacz Nursery & Florist, located at 465 West Theater Lane in Hermiston, is open seven days a week and offers floral arrangements for any occasion, in addition to its garden supplies and services.
