W.D. Bryant celebrated the opening of Outdoor Solutions

W.D. Bryant is celebrated the grand opening of its newest edition, Outdoor Solutions, on March 19 and 20.

“The Outdoor Solutions is an extension of W.D. Bryant’s,” said Jeff Earnest, co-owner of W.D. Bryant. “It was a brain storm with Lee and us, and we got together and just decided to do something different.”

“We try to get something for everybody – something for people who want to plant, who want to do décor, something for grilling – just all different areas of outdoor,” said Earnest. “We also have, in our outdoor solutions, farm products also. We are pleased to get stuff from Southern States and so we have those products available.”

Outdoor solutions has a variety of products ranging from lawn and gardening tools and products to grilling and patio essentials.

Work on Outdoor Solutions began in September.

“This really, like I said out there, stems from a pandemic event,” said Lee Bryant, co-owner of W.D. Bryant. “We sold more outdoor goods last year than in the history of the company.”

“People wanted to be outside. They were stuck at home; they were going to put in a garden,” said Bryant. “This was spurred by pandemic, really. We grew lawn and garden last year by 40 percent and we said, ‘We have got the opportunity right now to do something.’”

The closure of several local businesses created an opening in the market for Outdoor Solutions to fill the gap.

The slogan for the extension is “Where every garden gets its start.”

“I love that,” said Bryant. “This is more than a plant store. You can do a raised bed garden with vegetables; you can decide you want to landscape the front of your house here. You can decide that you are going to just put a pot on the porch here. You can decide that you are going to have a zen garden, and you are going to put a fire pit out there. You are going to gravel an area where you can go and escape the world. This has maybe five or six gardens in one.”

W.D. Bryant is a family company that has been in Williamsburg for 93 years. The Corbin location opened in the early 2000s.

“I am thankful that we are nimble,” said Bryant. “I am thankful that we haven’t decided we are a lumber store and that is it.”

Bryant said that he loves how the business has grown from a necessity type store to a retail location. He predicts that Outdoor Solutions will be the fastest growing department in the business.

“We want to be able to serve the community because we know this is a need, and we also want to be able to see the community grow greener and have more of a beautiful area,” said Earnest. “Anything we can do at W.D. Bryant to help people to be able to create the yard of their dreams.”

Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus was present for the ribbon cutting Friday morning. She said, “I am very impressed with what they have done here with this space. It is beautiful. It is really going to be an asset to our community.”

After presenting Bryant and Earnest with a Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce plaque, Bruce Carpenter, the executive director of the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, told the News Journal, “The Bryants have done such a great job over the years supporting our community, and to bring this to downtown is just another great addition to our community.”

W.D. Bryant in Corbin is located on South Main Street. The store is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.