Winn Nursery
Family Business Transitions to the 5th Generation
Established in 1885, Winn Nursery is transitioning to a 5th generation as a family company. (l. to r.) Wendall, Carter, and Jimmy Winn are running the business with insight from Barclay Winn. Winn Nursery was founded in Norfolk in 1885 by A.C. Winn, and this year, the business transitioned to the fifth generation of the Winn family. Barclay Winn, who served until recently as CEO, explains the family business progression, which has passed along a focus on customer service from generation to generation. “My great grandfather founded Winn Nursery, then his son Wirt continued it. My grandfather’s two sons – my father and my uncle, Wendall and William – came in as the third generation. Then I came to work in 1970, followed by my cousin Carter, in 1975. We were the fourth generation. Carter and I bought out the family and took control in 1985. I have two sons - Clay with 25 years of experience and Wendall with 17 years of experience, plus a cousin Jimmy with 39 years of experience who helped grow the business, and we have recently transitioned the business to them.”
The average life span of a family-owned business is 24 years. Winn Nursery will be celebrating 140 years in 2025. About 40% of U.S. family-owned businesses turn into second-generation businesses, approximately 13% are passed down successfully to a third generation, and just 3% to a fourth or beyond. Those statistics from Businessweek magazine speak to how rare a 5th generation family business is.
Barclay is continuing to provide mentorship and guidance to the new owners, getting to work at 5:15 every morning as he has for more than 50 years. “For me, Winn Nursery is a legacy. I am proud of all its success and want to see it continue into the future.”
Barclay credits a strong work ethic and honoring commitments for the company’s longtime viability. “When I was in high school, I worked in the summer with my grandfather, father, and uncle. They instilled in me the importance of doing the right thing, being fair and honest, and standing behind what you do. Treat your employees like you want to be treated because you are nothing without them.”
Winn Nursery has worked on hundreds of projects over the years from eastern North Carolina to Williamsburg. Recent landscaping installations include the Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, Norfolk Premium Outlets, and a significant portion of East Beach, a transformational project in the Ocean View section of the city. “You can’t go very far without seeing something that Winn Nursery has worked on. Office buildings, houses, apartments, colleges and universities, highways – projects ranging from $500 to $2 million in size,” Barclay says. “It’s hard work, and you’re dealing with the weather and a perishable product, but it’s very rewarding to see what we have been able to accomplish. The community has supported us, and we have been blessed.”
Winn Nursery provided beautiful landscaping for Norfolk Premium Outlets, a 50-acre site with a walking path around Lake Wright.
Tommy Rueger, senior executive vice president of business development at TowneBank, was a Norfolk Academy classmate of Barclay’s and was the banker who facilitated the purchase of the company in 1985 when he worked for another financial institution. Always one to value relationships, Winn Nursery subsequently transitioned to TowneBank after Tommy retired from his prior bank and ultimately joined Towne. Barclay has another TowneBank connection with Charity Volman-Winn, his wife of three years, and the president of TowneBank Norfolk. “Charity was one of the bankers who helped us when we moved from Granby Street to Berkley in 1996. And as they say, the rest is history.”
For more information, visit WinnNursery.com.