Hustling Firewood Leads to New Business Landscape

in High Ridge is a family-owned business that’s been around in one form or another since 1975. Bill Richardet started off small by selling firewood when he was between jobs as a carpenter in the off-season.

“Back in the 70s I used to knock on doors and sell firewood and mulch,” said Richardet. His customers spread the word and after three years of hustling firewood and mulch, he realized his “side job” was earning more than construction work. Thus, Bi-State was born.

Richardet said he saw a niche that wasn’t being filled and felt pretty confident about taking the leap to work for himself full time. He expanded the firewood and mulch business to include chimney cleaning. His wife Pam joined him and together they donned tux and top hat to become traditional chimney sweeps up until the late 1980s.

Back then Bi-State was located in Perryville. In 1987 the Richardets moved their business, as well as their family, to High Ridge, putting them closer to many of their regular customers.

Richardet said the business just kept growing over the years as they added services, like patio installation and snowplowing. Eventually they dropped the chimney sweep business in order to focus more on landscaping supplies and services. Their son, Aaron, join the company as a teenager and helped launch a yard care business, Cardinal Lawn and Landscaping. Aaron left the family business after college to pursue a career as a chiropractor.

Their daughter Lindsay didn’t care for field work though she remembers riding around in the truck with her dad as he made deliveries. She attended college at Webster University, earning a B.A. in Business Management. Lindsey said that after getting some job experience she found her way back to Bi-State.

“They were looking to expand and grow. It seemed to be a good fit and it just worked out that way,” she said. She became Bi-State’s office manager about six years ago, which allowed her mom to cut back on hours.

In 2004 they bought their present location visible from Hwy. 30, at 3112 Pleasant View Drive. The residential property was rehabbed over the next two years into a showroom and storage yard. The old garage is now an indoor garden, complete with mulch and paving stone paths, with fountains, wind chimes, bird feeders and garden décor. The rest of the house is now office space and a retail storefront. The front yard has a display area with more functional fountains, outdoor fireplaces and patio stones. Statuary is located in the back and large bays to the side hold topsoil and gravel.

Bill admits that it can get difficult running a family landscape business. He keeps the shop open seven days a week from March to November when customers are interested in maintaining or improving their yards. Though Pam and Lindsay mainly staff the office during the week, sometimes they all need to pitch in on Saturdays to keep thing running smoothly. The family are the only full time employees, though they hire several part-time and seasonal workers.

Lindsay says family life and the business often blur together, but it helps to keep the family close.