Bullard's to Close After 33 Years
Published: Friday, January 7, 2022
After more than three decades of growing fruits, vegetables and flowers, the owners of Bullard's Farm Market and Greenhouse, located at 5220 Middlebury St. (C.R. 14), Elkhart, are retiring.
Kevin and Cindy Bullard on Sunday announced they will not be reopening their popular farm market this spring. The land has been sold and, for the first time in 33 years, the couple are looking forward to having more time off.
"We just decided that the time is right," said Kevin, who also serves as a member of the Elkhart city council.
Retirement has been on their minds for a while, and while Kevin and Cindy are in good health, they want to do some other things.
But there were other factors, such as high costs and labor, that also played into the decision.
Originally, the farm began as a partnership involving Kevin, his brother Kurt, and their father, Herman. Kevin took over as the sole owner in 1994.
After graduating from Purdue University in 1979, Kevin came home to work with his father.
Herman, who passed away nearly 12 years ago, was a well-known farmer in Elkhart County and active in the 4-H fair and the Extension board. He also was recognized as a master farmer by Prairie Farmer magazine, and in 1981 the Bullard family earned the Farm Family of the Year award from the Elkhart County Agricultural Society.
In 1982, Herman started selling sweet corn from a wagon at the corner of C.R. 17 and C.R. 14. In 1989, the family built a market building at that spot. Since then, that intersection has become known as "Bullard's Corner."
After Kevin and Cindy married in 2000, Cindy joined the business and began selling custom flower pots.
In 2010, they built a greenhouse to facilitate the flower business.
"The business took off after we built that," Kevin said. "The greenhouse became a big part of it. Cindy was involved in custom potting. Probably a third of our greenhouse business was custom work. We probably did a couple thousand customer pots that were individually made just for them. That's really a big, big business."
Bullard's Farm Market and Greenhouse earned the small business of the year award in 2013 from the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce. That award, Kevin said, provided validation that their farm market was on par with the finest businesses in the city of Elkhart.
In recent years, the farm market has hosted a number of special events that were well attended. Some included Corn Fest, Strawberry Fest and live music on the third Saturday of every month.
"We kind of got into entertainment and just giving back to the community in that way," he said.
Kevin says farming involves a lot of red tape. He currently holds seven permits and licenses.
"In order to do it right, there are a lot of requirements that you need to have as far as licenses and permits," he said. "Food safety has always been what we've stressed in the market and the produce."
The Bullards pride themselves on providing excellent customer service.
"Cindy was all about customer service," Kevin said. "They (consumers) could go anywhere and buy flowers or produce, but the one thing that set us apart was the customer service, and Cindy really hammered that home."
With the farmland changing hands, Kevin knows that it won't be long until the land is converted to some type of development.
"It's county road 17," he said. "It's marked for advanced manufacturing. That area is growing exponentially. We always knew that once we moved on, that this land was never going to be farmed again."
At one time, the Bullards had as many 11 employees, but that number dwindled to one or two in the past few years. Just like other businesses, Kevin and Cindy had to adapt to a tight labor market.
"When we hired employees, we hired personalities," Kevin said. "I can teach them how to sell produce and sell flowers and what colors go with what, but you can't teach personality in employees. And we really had some great employees. We're going to miss them. We're going to miss our customers."
Retirement will bring a change of pace for the Bullards. One of their goals is to enjoy the summertime. Instead of harvesting sweet corn and other vegetables, Kevin and Cindy will be free to travel and do other things.
"We've adapted, made some changes to survive," Kevin said. "We're at that time where we think it's right for us to do a transition into something else."
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