Orchard Businesses Grow To Support A Growing Community

Editor's Note: This is the second part in a three-part series on Orchard's unique growth. To read Part One of the series, go here. To read an introduction to the series by the editor, click here.

Three years ago, Stephanie and Dustin Cleveland moved their family from upstate New York to Orchard, Nebraska, population 379. 

“Dustin had always wanted to come take the store (R’s Carryout),” said Stephanie Cleveland. “He’d always talked about it, so I kind of gave in.”

When Rodger Cleveland’s battle with cancer seemed to be coming to an end, Dustin and Stephanie realized it was time to go home. Sylvia Cleveland had been managing the store almost single handedly when the couple moved back. 

“We moved out here in summer of 2013 and we started kind of running things in November of 2013,” explained Cleveland. “Actually finalized purchase the following year.”

Since taking over the establishment, Cleveland has noticed how business has grown. “Business wise, we’re much busier. Especially with kitchen and lunches.”

Although R’s Carryout also had a kitchen, it wasn’t as frequented and held minimal hours. Now, the kitchen opens for four hours during lunch and four hours for supper nearly every day. 

“Maybe it has to do with advertising, we started doing a little bit more of that,” acknowledged Cleveland.  “We also do pizza now up at the school for their volleyball and football games, so if they ask us for that, basketball games as well, we do pizzas up there. We started doing a wing bar at the bar once a week, and we sell them at a discounted price if they order them from the bar and we just run them down there.”

All these changes means more options for the community, but, perhaps even more importantly, it mean more jobs. 

As rural communities become smaller and smaller, it’s not odd to see abandoned store fronts. Sometimes even two, three or even five abandoned stores stand side by side.

Following the closing of stores is a loss of jobs, which drives people further away. However, Orchard residents have stayed, choosing to revamp their businesses and even start new businesses. 

The business community in Orchard has changed over the last several years. From expansions with Lazy T Tire & Implement, IMAC, and other local businesses, which strive to provide quality services and jobs for the community, to the start of new businesses, such as Ferguson Ag, which got started in 2008. 

Laura Ferguson, who joined her parents Lucy and John Ferguson at Ferguson Ag not long after it was founded, says that the company has always been focused on supporting local communities. 

“We’re all in it together,” said Ferguson. “We pride ourselves in hiring locally and trying to keep folks in Orchard”

Ferguson Ag, who is especially dedicated to helping young farmers thrive, started off with three employees, all family, and has steadily grown to 14 employees, seven of which are not family. 

Although the company has experienced steady growth in the past eight years, Ferguson said that they had a period of quick expansion as far as area and buildings go. “Building-wise, we kind of had a big growth between 2012 and 2014, but it was mostly steady growth for the company.”

Ferguson feels proud of the growth her parents’ company has made, and says that at the moment they are focused on helping farmers survive hard times. 

“Right now we just want to ride out poor farm economy,” explained Ferguson. “We’re focusing on what can we do to help farmers shrink that bottom line and be able to take out a profit with lower commodity prices. Our goal is helping our customers survive.”
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Orchard is still small, and the growth happening hasn’t outwardly changed the community much. However, with families like the Fergusons and Clevelands in town, and businesses like Double D’s and TJ’s Market, who have dedicated time to growing their small businesses and helping the town economy, it’s not surprising that more and more people are choosing to return, and finding jobs to keep them close.