Trendy D.C. plant shop REWILD grows offshoot location in Ballston

REWILD, a trendy D.C.-based plant shop, has sprouted a second permanent location in Ballston Quarter.

The shop held a “soft opening” yesterday (Wednesday) and has a grand opening set for this Saturday, Oct. 23, with “goodies and special stuff happening,” co-owner Lily Cox tells ARLnow.

The shop first announced its expansion earlier this year, but the opening at 700 N. Randolph Street, Suite #190 has been delayed several months due to supply and material hold-ups.

Cox tells ARLnow the Ballston location was a natural choice, as a big chunk of REWILD’s customer base at its Shaw location came from this side of the Potomac.

“When we started offering delivery service, we found we were doing a lot of deliveries to Virginia,” she says.

The Ballston location will be much like the one in D.C., except a bit larger. It also includes a storefront and delivery service, and will eventually hold workshops.

Like many businesses, REWILD suffered at the start of the pandemic — it shut down for some time and sales dipped by up to 20%.

But this past summer, REWILD sales rose by about 50%, which Cox attributed to the store’s expanded offerings, including more deliveries, consultations and commercial clients.

“Offices have been contacting us because they want plants in their space,” says Cox. “Having plants in the office environment has been proven to boost productivity and [employers] are trying to make the office more enticing.”

Also, in general, people are also investing more into their at-home spaces, she notes.

When Cox opened the first REWILD three years ago, her initial mission was to create “a plant shop that was immersive and interactive.” Now, she says it’s more about education and working with customers to make sure they make the right purchase.

“We have real conversations with our clients about what plants would work best for their space and their lifestyle,” she says “So, they don’t have these horror stories about plants they killed.”

Cox originally got into designing plants as a hobby outside her 9-to-5 job in D.C. She says working with greenery kept her in touch with her West Coast roots. That hobby grew into crafting, workshops and selling plants out of Shop Made in D.C. It was then, three years ago, that she connected with co-owners Joseph Ressler and Kyle Cannon to open REWILD.

To Cox, plants show change and evolution. As REWILD expands, there’s an obvious analogy.

“You see the leaves, you see them add a few more inches of height, or grow in new directions,” she says. “It’s just exciting.”