Woodinville’s Molbak’s to shut down after recent exclusion from Gardens District project

WOODINVILLE, Wash. — Molbak’s Garden + Home announced Monday its intention to close down operations after eleventh-hour negotiations with their developer/landlord to stay in their long-term home failed, according to a media release from the company.

Part of Woodinville for the past 67 years, Molbak’s mediation efforts with Green Partners, LLC, were not successful.

“Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to come to an agreement with Green Partners. There are no financially viable options that will allow Molbak’s to keep operating as the kind of nursery, company and community resource we want to be,” said Julie Kouhia, CEO of Molbak’s. “After considering many different possibilities and a great deal of discussion with the Molbak family, we’ve determined that we no longer have a path forward.”

Starting in 2008, Molbak’s had been working with Green Partners to develop more than 19 acres of property in Woodinville into The Gardens District, of which Molbak’s was supposed to be the centerpiece.

However, in November, Molbak’s was informed they were no longer part of the project and their agreement with Green Partners was terminated.

Details on phasing down its operations are still being worked on, according to Molbak’s. The business has 70 full-time employees, 45 part-time and seasonal employees, hundreds of vendors, and hundreds of thousands of customers.

“The Gardens District was Molbak’s commitment to our customers and community. It was a sustainable and strategic vision for our future that would allow us to stay in our Woodinville home,” said Kouhia. “We’re all struggling to understand what has happened. People are confused, shocked and heartbroken.”

In a statement, the Molbak family said:

We know this is incredibly difficult news for our employees and their families and the many other friends of Molbak’s throughout our industry, the Puget Sound, the country and the world.

The Gardens District was an exciting plan for our future and our opportunity to remain in Woodinville for decades to come. A new Molbak’s was supposed to be the heart of the project. To not be able to realize that vision is heartbreaking to us.

Our roots run deep. We can’t say enough about the amazing Molbak’s team, our loyal customers, our supportive vendors and the many community partnerships we’ve made over the years.

Family businesses are special. We’re grateful for the opportunity to share the passion for horticulture, floriculture and community that Egon and Laina began in 1956 and nurtured and grew in Woodinville for 67 years.

Thank you for your place in our family’s business. While Molbak’s may be coming to an end, the work we have all done together will last in the hearts, friendships and professional relationships we all share.

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