New investors come to Tulip Town

A 36-year tradition concluded in late June when Tulip Town on Bradshaw Road in Greater LaConner was purchased by Spinach Bus Ventures.

Since founders Tom and Jeannette DeGoede opened Tulip Town 1983, its colorful plantings, Peace Garden, murals of tulips in the Skagit Valley and Holland, and gracious owners have attracted hundreds of thousands of fans.

Tulip Town has been on the market for two years and Tom DeGoede died June 2.

The new buyers “are all local, they know farming and I think they are going to take it up to a new level that will be a real surprise for the Valley,” Jeannette DeGoede told the Weekly News. “They’re going to do a huge good job.”

Spinach Bus Ventures is a venture capital company founded by five Mount Vernon High School graduates. According to its website, it seeks to invest in local companies and agricultural properties in order to help promote, preserve and create economic development in Skagit County.

Co-founder Andrew Miller and his partners made the decision to purchase Tulip Town in March. “We had the benefit of going through an entire tulip season with the DeGoedes,” he says. “Had we not done that, we might not be so confident about getting Tulip Town to the next level, but more importantly not breaking it.”

This summer, Miller and other new owners are sorting tulips, driving forklifts and making plans for expansion. “Our hope is to create what we call a ‘Reason Every Season’”, says Miller. “Every 90 days we think there’s definitely something outdoors or ag-based happening here.”

The SB Ventures team hopes to capitalize on Tulip Town’s all-season gravel parking lot and large covered space to offer on-farm experiences in all kinds of weather – including the Birds of Winter festival.

A proponent of the festival when he was director of business retention and expansion for the Economic Development Association of Skagit County, Miller got an earful from farmers who were less than excited and strongly critical. As reported by the Weekly News last year, farmers were upset about damage to cover crops, increased fecal coliform levels and not sharing in the economic benefits reaped by restaurants and other tourist venues.

Miller is hoping that Tulip Town parking will at least address the concerns of those who “don’t want people parking in their driveway or on the side of the road.”

The team intends to continue Locals Night, when admission to Tulip Town is free to Skagit county residents. In previous years, Jeanette DeGoede stood at the entrance and greeted everyone who entered.

Now, DeGoede is excited about building a new home on Channel Drive. “I can sit and watch the boats go by on one side and farming on the other side,” she says. “It couldn’t be a better situation for me.”

She will also be on call for the new Tulip Town team. “I have to allow them to use their own creativity, but if they need me, they know I’ll be there for them.”