TALKING SHOP
Nick, left, Ian and Robert, as
well as Hazel, are happy to
help customers with all their
growing needs.
Panhandle Hydroponics & Homebrew was
the first hydro shop to open in West Virginia.
Owners Nick Hobbs and Robert Gardinier take
Maximum Yield on a tour of their digs.
Company:
Panhandle Hydroponics & Homebrew
Owners:
Nick Hobbs and Robert Gardinier
Location:
35 Monroe Street
Martinsburg, West Virginia 25404
Phone:
1-304-596-2052
Web:
panhandlehydroculture.com
Email:
[email protected]
Motto:
Go Home & Grow!
158
Maximum Yield USA | June 2016
A few bad customer service
experiences spurred Nick Hobbs
and Robert Gardinier to open
Panhandle Hydroponics &
Homebrew in 2010. Living in a
remote part of West Virginia, they
would drive quite a distance to
get their hydro supplies, only to
discover the shops didn’t have what
they needed, or they couldn’t get
answers to their questions. “The
final straw was when I was asked
by a shop owner what I wanted to
put back after coming up $2 short
on a $2,000 order,” remembers
Nick. “I vowed to never return
and open my own store with the
exact opposite policies.” Robert
was similarly determined to open
up his own place that made
communication and learning the
foundations of the business.
Nick, an electrician for six years,
and Robert, who opened a small
auto repair garage with his family
in 2003, decided to open their
own hydro shop. The pair met by
chance one year—Robert’s auto
shop was around the corner from
Nick’s tattoo artist—and they
started hanging out once they
realized they had a lot of the same
interests, like snowboarding, music
and growing. They started planning their shop in early 2010, and
opened the doors near the end
of that year. Martinsburg, West
Virginia, was chosen because it was
supportive of small businesses, with
a great population already involved
with farming and taking personal
responsibility for getting things
done. It also sits on a major highway near three different states.
Like many small business owners,
Nick and Robert started with just
a few thousand dollars’ worth of
inventory and the pressing need to