Gertens keeps growing with purchase of Houle’s Feed Stores in Washington County - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

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Gertens Greenhouses and Garden Center continues to expand its operations in Washington County.

The Inver Grove Heights-based business plans to purchase Houle’s Feed Store, which has locations in Forest Lake and Grant, and keep them in operation.

The sale is expected to be finalized on or before Sept. 1, said Bob Muske, the agent at RE/MAX who has the listing.

The owners of Houle’s announced plans last year to sell the business, which was started as a feed mill by E.J. Houle in 1916. A development company wanted to purchase the property in Forest Lake and replace it with a 100-room hotel and convention center, but those plans fell through, Muske said.

“When Gertens came along, this checked a lot of the boxes and fulfilled a lot of needs for Houle’s,” he said. “The fact that someone wants to continue operation and keep the buildings intact — that carried a lot of weight. That was very important to (Gertens), and it was important to Houle’s.”

Brothers Gary Houle, left, and James Houle talk in front of the price board at Houle’s Feed Mill in Forest Lake on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. For 103 years, the business has been selling feed and chickens and horse equipment. Now, the owners of the family-owned business, who are all in their 70s, are ready to retire. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)

Forest Lake Mayor Mara Bain said residents were thrilled to hear the news this week. “They’re excited to have the iconic, historic buildings remain intact,” she said.

The Houle buildings, located on southwest corner of Broadway Avenue and Highway 61, are popular backdrops for senior, engagement and prom photos. The blackboard on the side of the original building often notes wedding dates and senior class years.

“We thank the Houle family for their stewardship of this historic corner of Forest Lake,” Bain said. “We welcome Gertens to Forest Lake and look forward to working with them.”

Gertens’ Gino Pitera said Friday that he could not comment on the possible sale until after the deal is closed.

Houle’s in Forest Lake sells almost every kind of feed imaginable, including dog, deer, horse, llama, chicken, hog, goat and turkey. It even sells food for gorillas, snakes, giraffes, monkeys, chinchillas and zebras; one of its biggest customers is the Como Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul.

“It’s a bittersweet time,” Gary Houle, the store’s general manager and grandson of E.J. Houle, told the Pioneer Press in 2019. “Our name has been on the building for a long time. It’s hard to think about not coming to work in the morning. My dad worked here until he was 81.”

The five Houle siblings — brothers Jim, Gary, Jeff and Greg and sister Mary Koski — also are selling Houle’s Farm, Garden & Pet store on Minnesota 36 in Grant to Gertens.

In 2014, Gertens purchased a 52-acre growing site in Lake Elmo that belonged to Linder’s Greenhouses.

In February 2013, Gertens bought 80 acres from Buell’s Landscape and Design Center on Manning Avenue in Denmark Township.

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