By: Mike Koury | C&G Newspapers | Published August 27, 2025
METRO DETROIT — Creating a lasting business in a community can be quite difficult. Growing that business can be even more stressful.
Some of the longest lasting businesses in metro Detroit are its family markets and garden centers, founded decades ago. Many still can be visited at their original locations.
Impressively, there might not be many other businesses that have lasted longer than Kutchey Family Market. It has been part of the fabric of the city of Warren since the early 1800s. The original farm and store were located at 3202 East 10 Mile Road.
It was eight years ago when David Kutchey decided to sell that land and open a market at 27825 Ryan Road to sell produce and an expanded inventory of flowers and gardening supplies. The land was formerly home to Young’s Garden Mart & Christmas Fantasy, another longtime family farm business in Warren.
Kutchey said they always wanted to stay in Warren when looking for a new spot, as the community has always supported the business. They want to support the community, too.
“We just obviously enjoy the community and we’re so well known in the community,” he said. “People know us from being here for the original farm on 10 Mile. Being there for over 170 years, it’s just been a staple in the community … I don’t want to start all over. We have an excellent reputation and people know us and they trust us, and they know they can get good quality produce when it’s in season. So it was the right thing to do to stay here.”
Over in Troy, Uncle Luke’s Feed Store found its home in the city around 100 years ago in the 1920s selling their products to locals in one form or another, originally as Stiles Feed Store. The market operated out of a shed next to the current location as a farm outlet and hardware store.
The market eventually found its current home at 6691 Livernois Road in 1946, opening as “Uncle Luke’s Print Shop.” It has been there in Troy ever since.
Longtime employee Gil Tufts said their longevity in Troy has been due to their loyal customers.
“That’s the secret to our business,” he said. “I’ve got one lady that travels from Petoskey down here, and probably some further. … If you don’t have a loyal customer base and you don’t treat your customers right, you’re not going to be in business and that’s something we always strive to do here.”
Troy also is home to Telly’s Greenhouse & Garden Center at 3301 John R Road, where it was founded in 1978.
Telly’s Greenhouse kind of fell into the family’s lap, according to owner George Papadelis, as they had been neighbors next to an old woman with a greenhouse who then died in 1976. Papadelis’ father, Gust, bought that land in 1977.
Papadelis said the business got its start when, as a kid, it was suggested he and his brother grow plants in the greenhouse and sell them to make money for a family trip to Greece. They then painted a sign and sold flowers from the side of the road, making $1,000.
The business eventually grew and became what it is today, where it took on the name Telly’s, which was the name of Gust Papadelis’ Greek restaurant.
Since its beginnings, Telly’s has grown to include multiple locations in Michigan but currently has its base of operations at its Troy location and in Shelby Township, where they bought several acres of land 15 years ago to grow their flowers and plants. That’s where they do more than 90% of their growing.
That being said, Papadelis said they plan to stay at their Troy home.
“We’re staying here at the Troy location because it’s an excellent location and we’ve developed a property well to accommodate the store and, quite frankly, I feel like we’ve done a lot to promote gardening in the area and sort of get people to appreciate it more and enjoy it more,” he said.
Papadelis said the city of Troy has grown around them, as has the need for plants from a reputable and family-owned garden center.
“We just grew along with that need,” he said. “As the market changed, we adapted to it because the same person that was growing the plants was selling the plants, which is me. So things have changed an awful lot since, of course, we started almost 50 years ago, but we’re still all about plants that we grow, and we love doing that and we’re good at it and we’re very service-oriented. Customers expect to see me here and they expect to get their questions answered accurately and, in most cases, passionately.”
In the case of Kutchey Family Market, the business has made such an impact in Warren that it was designated with a historical marker.
Kutchey said the designation was something that made him proud that he could continue his family’s legacy in Warren.
“It makes me very proud that I can continue on the family legacy that my great grandfather and my grandfather and my father and all them, that when they settled on 10 Mile and that was the original property, and then they started farming, that I can continue that and bring people good quality fruit and vegetables … and continue the legacy and keep supporting the community that supports us,” he said.