One of the oldest family-owned businesses in Bentonville, Matkins Flowers & Greenhouse, is officially on the clock.
While the decision to sell the approximately 1-acre property at 205 SW Third St. was not unanimous among family members, a $3.4 million sale to Haag Brown Development LLC was completed in late 2025, according to Jeff Matkins, who runs the day-to-day business. Under the contract, Matkins Flowers & Greenhouse will remain open through 2026, marking its 100th and final year in business.
“Bentonville has changed so much over the years, but we’ve always been here, serving our customers,” Jeff Matkins said. “I’m proud of this business and what we represent. Stories like ours are a dying breed.”
The florist business has been continuously operated by the Matkins family for four generations. Jeff’s father, Jim Matkins, 72, grew up around the business before eventually succeeding his parents and grandparents in running the operation.
“Knowing this is the last year is difficult,” Jim Matkins said. “This is what I’ve done my entire life. I was born in one of the houses on this property, and I’ve been in these greenhouses since I could walk. I’m more at home here with these plants than I am in my own home.”
Building a Business
That story began in 1927, when Henry Lennie Matkins Sr. purchased the home on the corner of Southwest Third and B streets, which now serves as the entrance to a cluster of greenhouses on the property. He began growing cash crops, including cabbage, peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes, for farmers, canning companies and other customers in what was then a predominantly rural community. His son, Henry Lennie Matkins Jr., worked alongside him for years and, after a four-year stint in Kansas building aircraft during World War II with his wife, Hazel, he returned to Bentonville to take over the business.
In 1945, the first glass greenhouses were constructed, and a flower shop was added a few years later. When Jim Matkins took the reins in the late 1970s, he expanded the operation to include more vegetables, bedding plants and houseplants.
The family says it has always adapted to meet the needs of its customers and the community, serving everyone from gardeners and landscapers to families looking to brighten their homes with flowers or plants.
“My dad always told me to make sure every customer left our shop feeling like they were taken care of and had learned something new,” Jim Matkins said. “We love what we do, and that’s why we’ve been around for 100 years.”
Like his father, Jeff Matkins learned the ropes as a child. The two can still be found working in the greenhouses and flower shop nearly every day.
“This truly is a family business,” the fourth-generation business owner said. “It has been from the beginning and will be until our final day.”
The modest downtown area where Matkins Flowers & Greenhouse put down roots a century ago has changed dramatically. Today, the business sits in the shadow of multi-level developments such as the Motto by Hilton hotel, Ledger community hub and the soon-to-be-completed Bentonville Adult Recreation Center.
As the Matkins family marks both its 100th year in business and its final growing season, Haag Brown Development LLC has not yet announced detailed re-development plans. The developer said in a press release that mixed-use and residential projects are being considered for the property.