Warner’s Nursery and Landscape Co. has been northern Arizona’s go-to garden center for 50 years, with four generations of the Warner family running the business.
The story starts with Bill Warner and Dottie Morgan, who moved to Page in the 1950s, when the city was booming because of the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Once they arrived, Bill launched a Firestone Hardware store.
But when the dam was completed in the mid-1960s, the town pretty much went bust and the hardware store closed. The family kept the building, however, which would eventually house three different businesses, including a plant and gift shop started by Dottie.
The couple’s three sons helped out with all the family businesses and eventually expanded the nursery into a landscape company as well. By the late 1980s, the company was winning landscaping contracts throughout northern Arizona from school districts, municipal governments and commercial entities. Many of these projects were based in Flagstaff and the family decided they needed a physical location there.
The Warners first had a facility on North Highway 89 near Empire which opened in 1990. After a couple of years, however, it became clear that the company needed a larger home and in 1995, they moved operations to a much larger space at 1101 E. Butler Ave.
Although Dottie remained in Page the rest of her life, she was still a major force behind Warner’s in both its locations. She continued to run the gift shop within the Page nursery and would attend all the trade shows.
Two of her grandchildren, Misti Warner-Andersen and her sister, Marni Montague, now lead the team that runs the businesses. Misti’s husband, Dan Andersen, is head of the landscape company, and their three sons – Hayden, Colton, and Brody – often helps out in the summer, the fourth generation of the family to work at Warner’s.
But even as the story of Warner’s moves on to future generations, you don’t have to look far to find the influences of the much-beloved family matriarch. Nestled inside the Flagstaff Nursery is “Dot’s Back Porch” gift shop, and when her granddaughters wanted to open up a coffee shop inside the nursery, there was no doubt what the name would be.
“Everyone loved my grandmother,” said Misti Warner-Andersen. “Even after she retired, I remember her coming to check that everything was running smoothly. She noticed every detail and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty to ensure our success. I wanted to honor the fact that none of us would have this amazing life and company if it weren’t for her. A friend of ours who knew our grandma and used to work here came up with the perfect name that captured everything I wanted it to be – Dottie’s Garden Coffee Shoppe.”
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- Our founders & grandparents, Bill & Dorothy Warner
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- Our founder & grandmother, Dorothy Warner, in our very first garden center in Page, Arizona.
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- Dorothy “Dot”, tending to her flower beds in Page, Arizona
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- Dot collecting natural elements to include in floral arrangements & interior displays.
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- Dot and her Three Sons: David, Fred, & Dugan.
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- Construction of Dorothy & Bill’s home in Page, Arizona, where they landed to “pioneer a town”.