Photo credit: Lisa VickersPhoto of the nursery in Gotham this spring.
“O’Donal’s Nursery has been a family owned business for many generations and today continues this local legacy through the recent purchase by its employees who will run it as a worker owned cooperative,” said Catherine Buxton.
O’Donal’s was founded in 1953 by Royce and Selma O’Donal. Jeffrey O’Donal purchased the business from his parents in 2006. The senior O’Donal’s wanted to retire but “still maintain the family-owned ethos” said Rob Brown, Director of Business Ownership Solutions at the Cooperative Development Institute and Nicholas Vacciano, Employee Owner, O’Donal’s Nursery. Nearly half of the O’Donal’s staff had been with the business for 10 or more years. 22 Employees signed on to form a cooperative to purchase the nursery together. The transition to a worker owned cooperative was completed last spring.
Photo credit: Lisa VickersPhoto of the nursery in Gotham this spring
“O’Donal’s Nursery exists first and foremost because of the shared vision, work ethic and sense of fairness embodied by my parents and now me. Many long-term employees worked with my parents and now me. Their efforts, as much as mine, made the company what it is” said Jeffrey O’Donal.
As a cooperative, worker owners will together carry on the O’Donal’s legacy and continue providing the expertise and quality that local gardeners and landscapers have come to know and rely on.