City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio

What City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio does

City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio is a privately held, single-location garden retailer and landscape design-build-maintenance firm headquartered at 3022 W. Lake Street in Chicago's East Garfield Park neighborhood. Founded in 2003 by Connie Rivera on a nearly three-acre site under the L, the company operates a full-service retail garden center offering outdoor and indoor plants, home décor, furniture, planters, artwork, silk flowers, and seasonal merchandise, complemented by a cityescapeshop.com e-commerce storefront. The business serves three core customer segments—commercial/HOA properties, municipal government clients (including O'Hare, Midway, CTA, Cook County, and multiple Chicago-area villages), and residential homeowners—through a unified portfolio spanning retail sales, consultative landscape design and installation, and recurring landscape maintenance contracts.

The company monetizes across four streams: one-time retail sales of plants and décor (physical and online), professional-services revenue from design-build projects, recurring subscription-style maintenance contracts, and seasonal clearance events (e.g., the 'Clear the Floor Sale' with up to 75% discounts). The go-to-market combines walk-in direct-to-consumer retail with a consultative field-sales motion for commercial and municipal landscape work, supplemented by content marketing via the 'Le Jardin' blog, Facebook and Instagram presence, and word-of-mouth referrals. There is no proprietary technology platform; the underlying capability is a credentialed in-house team of horticulturalists, arborists, landscape architects, and designers, supported by a network of specialty consultants in irrigation, lighting, and arboriculture plus relationships with local growers. Headcount is reported at 11-50 employees, pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, and there is no institutional ownership, funding history, or AI/ML capability associated with the firm.

Name

City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio

Legal name

City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio

Website

https://cityescape.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio is a Chicago-based boutique garden center and landscape design-build-maintenance firm serving residential, commercial, HOA, and municipal clients across Chicagoland with retail plants, home décor, and recurring landscape services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Garden Center & Landscape Services

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240), Landscaping Services (561730), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAIAIAB

Plants, Seeds & Nursery Retail (Garden Centers)

Consumer Products & Retail/Home & Furniture Retail/Gardening & Outdoor Living Retail (Patio, Grills, Lawn & Garden)

SECONDARYHSAIABAA

Residential Landscape Design

Home & Personal Services/Landscaping, Lawn Care & Outdoor Maintenance/Landscape Design & Installation

SECONDARYCRAIACAG

Indoor Plants, Faux Florals & Botanical Décor Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Home & Furniture Retail/Home Décor & Accessories Retail

Keywords

• Garden center retail
• Landscape design build
• Outdoor plants nursery
• Home decor retail
• Landscape maintenance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales: Direct retail sales of plants, flowers, home décor, outdoor furniture, planters, vases, artwork, silk flowers, holiday decorations, and gardening accessories from the physical garden center and e-commerce store.
2. Landscape Design-Build Services: Design and installation services for landscape projects including patios, walkways, retaining walls, water features, irrigation systems, and custom lighting for residential, commercial, and municipal properties.
3. Landscape Maintenance Contracts: Ongoing landscape maintenance services for commercial, residential, and municipal properties including grooming, nutrition/fertilization, protection, and repair/renovation services under contract.
4. Seasonal Sales Events: Seasonal clearance sales and promotional events including the 'Clear the Floor Sale' offering discounts up to 75% off to prepare for seasonal inventory changes.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio operates a nearly three-acre boutique garden center in East Garfield Park, Chicago, retailing outdoor and indoor plants, outdoor décor, home décor, silk flowers, furniture, planters, artwork, and holiday decorations to walk-in and online consumers. The company also runs a Landscape Division that provides design-build services (patios, walkways, retaining walls, water features, irrigation, lighting), recurring landscape maintenance, and property management for commercial, municipal, HOA, and residential clients throughout Chicagoland.

Product overview

City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio is a boutique garden center and landscape design studio operating as a single-location retail and service business. The company offers a unified portfolio spanning three main areas: a Garden Department (outdoor plants, indoor plants, outdoor décor, silk flowers & foliage), Home Décor (furniture, planters & vases, artwork, holiday decorations), and Landscaping Services (design:build, maintenance, and properties management). Products are sold through the physical retail store at 3022 W. Lake Street, Chicago, with landscaping services delivered to commercial, municipal, and residential properties throughout Chicagoland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Garden Department Core retail department offering outdoor plants (perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, grasses), indoor plants (tropical plants, blooming flowers), outdoor décor (furniture, fountains, statuary, flower pots), and silk flowers and foliage (permanent botanicals) for walk-in consumers and trade buyers.
• Home Décor Curated home décor selection including accent furniture (bistro-style sets, shelving, cabinets, antique pieces), planters and vases (terra cotta, glazed, ceramic, glass, blown glass; French and Italian artisan collections), artwork (nature prints and lithographs of landscapes, wildlife, flowers, trees, birds), and seasonal holiday decorations, serving individual consumers and interior designers.
• Outdoor Plants Outdoor plants including unique flowers, herbs, vegetables, seeds, grasses, ground cover, trees, and shrubs sold throughout the growing season to walk-in consumers.
• Indoor Plants Year-round blooming flowers and indoor tropical plants, including pet-friendly and odor-free plant options, sold to walk-in consumers.
• Outdoor Décor Al fresco furniture, fountains, statuary, and outdoor decorations including flower pots and vases in cast-iron, cast-stone, and glazed ceramic materials.
• Silk Flowers & Foliage Permanent botanicals and forever flowers designed to replicate natural plant elegance without maintenance requirements.
• Artwork Nature-inspired artwork including prints and lithographs of landscapes, wildlife, flowers, trees, and birds.
• Planters & Vases Decorative flower pots and vases including terra cotta, glazed, ceramic, glass, and blown glass options, including French and Italian artisan collections.
• Furniture Accent furniture including bistro-style sets, shelving, cabinets, and unique antique furniture pieces.
• Holiday Decorations Holiday décor including fresh-cut Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands, ornaments, and seasonal decorations for winter holidays.
• Landscape Design:Build Services End-to-end design and construction services for residential, commercial, and municipal properties, including landscape design, client consultation, site analysis, graphic design, plant specification, stone and brick patios, retaining walls, water features, irrigation systems, and lighting installation.
• Landscape Maintenance Ongoing property maintenance under recurring contract, including grooming (mowing, edging, pruning, weeding), nutrition (fertilizers, watering), protection (weed, insect, and disease control), and repair/renovation services for commercial, residential, and municipal properties.
• Landscape Properties Management Property management services for commercial, HOA, municipal, and residential properties, bundling design, installation, maintenance, and seasonal flower services into a single managed engagement.
• Clear the Floor Sale Seasonal promotional clearance event featuring deep discounts (up to 75% off) on select indoor, outdoor, and holiday décor items to clear inventory between seasons.

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Various Landscape Architects (rooftops, terraces, green roofs specialists)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCityEscape maintains relationships with several landscape architects specializing in areas such as roof tops, terraces and green roofs for specialized design projects.
• Various Consultants (irrigation, lighting, arboriculture)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe company works with a wide range of consultants to handle specific client needs such as irrigation, lighting and arboriculture.
• Local GrowersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlants for landscape installations are obtained from local growers, supporting the local supply chain for plant materials.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/cityescapechicago
• Instagraminstagram.com/cityescape_chicago

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City Escape Garden Center & Design Studio