Emily and Bobby Lynge, owners of Grow Plant Shop
The chrome Airstream trailer, which became a mainstay (and popular Instagram spot) in the Near Southside after its arrival in July 2018, will no longer grace West Magnolia Avenue.
The local occupant, Grow Plant Shop, has officially outgrown its humble digs and will be moving to Camp Bowie — taking over the space once occupied by The Enchanted Florist at 4800 Camp Bowie Blvd. — sometime in early 2021.
A bittersweet goodbye, the Airstream is merely the victim of the business’ exponential growth in the past couple of years.
“We’ve just completely outgrown that trailer,” Bobby Lynge, co-owner of Grow Plant Shop says. “When we first started, it was on a wing and a prayer that we would survive as a small business because my wife [Emily Lynge] and I completely shifted career paths. We had no idea how it would go in the beginning, but over time we’ve found so much support from not just Fort Worth but the entire Metroplex.”
In the face of the pandemic, the pair opened a web store and temporarily closed the Airstream. This meant the two had to find a second space to store the plants they were selling via the internet. Now, they will consolidate their brick and mortar and online store with a single location.
“We’re going from 200 square feet that we have to restock every day to something that won’t require too much restocking,” Bobby Lynge says. “We’ll just need to put the plants down once a week and be done with it ... We fell in love with the [new location] when we walked through it. All the natural light that’s going to be filling the space is phenomenal, and it’s 10 times bigger than our trailer.”
The Lynges always saw the location on Magnolia as temporary; the couple were renting the lot from Dr. C.G. Mudaliar, an internist, and his wife. The fear was that the property would eventually be sold, which would have resulted in the Lynges having to vacate the area.
“Camp Bowie is an area we’ve always loved,” Lynge says. “At Magnolia, there’s a lot of foot traffic, and it was great for establishing the awareness of our business, but we’re ready to take a step and establish ourselves even further.”
For those who will undoubtedly miss the trailer that’s quickly become a city landmark, Lynge is adamant the Airstream will find a new home soon.
“The Airstream won’t disappear,” Lynge says. “For now, it’ll be at our house, but our hope is to find a new city to park it in come spring 2021. We’re just not quite sure where that’ll be.”
