Saturday, August 8, 2015
The History of Telly’s, is reprinted with the permission of George Papadelis
The History of Telly’s, is reprinted with the permission of George Papadelis
More than three decades ago, Troy was less than the booming metropolis it is today. George and Mark Papadelis were youngsters whose parents lived on the safe, two-lane road called John R. one half mile north of Big Beaver. Their parents, Gust and Niki Papadelis, saw little harm in the boys setting up a roadside stand to sell plants they had started and grown themselves.
Their entrepreneurship proved productive and profitable. So much so, that it kept them busy until it was time for George to go off to study medicine at the University of Michigan. There, George pursued a career of nurturing people rather than plants for four full years. But each summer, he came home to tend the flower stand. By that time, the operation had grown into a full blown seasonal business. George soon found that he enjoyed cultivating beautiful flowers for the family homesteads of many Troy residents and other passers-by, as much as he enjoyed the challenges of growing the business.
The major dilemma of George’s life came in the summer of 88′ when he had to make the decision whether to apply for entrance into medical school or to re-commit his life to developing Telly’s Greenhouse and Garden Center.
With a lot of support from his parents, Gust and Niki, along with encouragement from Kellie (a fellow student of U of M who is now his wife), George has parlayed a little table full of homegrown flowers into acres of healthy, burgeoning blooms that grace the flowerboxes of apartments, the yards of suburban homes, and the gardens of estates throughout the tri-county area.
While George developed the greenhouse and garden center, his brother Mark developed Telly’s Nursery, selling trees and shrubs. Side by side the two boys have grown their businesses, providing Telly’s Greenhouse and Garden Center customers with a wide selection of plants, great quality, and friendly, knowledgeable service at a reasonable price.
There are great late summer bargains at Telly’s right now. Beautiful roses are on sale– buy one get a second at ½ price. Also most perennials are 25- 50% off. For more information go to https://www.tellys.com
Photos:
Telly’s Greenhouse
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
