Nipomo Christmas tree farm opens for the holiday season, celebrating its 60th year in business
NIPOMO, Calif. -- Holloway's Christmas Tree Farm opens for the holiday season on Thursday, kicking off a special year for the long-running family-owned business.
This marks the 60th year the Nipomo farm has been open to the public selling its choose and cut Monterey Pine Christmas trees.
"This is what we do," said owner Carl Holloway. "The goal this year is to sell 6,000 trees. That would be last year. We have the trees this year, so we're not going to sell out."
The last two years during the pandemic, Holloway's enjoyed record-setting businesses, completely selling out of trees just a few days after opening.
"Very unusual the last couple of years where we've actually had to close doors," said Holloway. "We've never had to do that before in the 60-year history of the farm, so we're hoping we have enough trees and about the 23rd of December we sell the very last one and retire to the house."
Holloway said there are about 2,700 Monterey Pines trees available to choose and cut on the farm, plus another 3,000 firs set to arrive by this weekend.
He added 2022 has presented the farm with a series of challenges, including rising utility, fuel, supply and many other costs.
To help offset the rising cost of business, Holloway said the price of trees has gone up slightly by about 10-15 percent.
However, even with the added cost of a tree, Holloway mentioned that it's well worth it for his customers.
"Don't buy an artificial tree," said Holloway. "There's no joy in that. Come out, spend two hours with us, roast some marshmallows. Get your tree. Get it home and water it as soon as you can and enjoy a beautiful Christmas with the smell and fragrance of a wonderful Christmas tree in your home."
Holloway's is the largest choose and cut Christmas tree farm in California. In addition to the Monterey Pines that are grown on the property, the farm also sells pre-cut trees that are imported from other parts of the United States.
Open since 1962, the farm has become a place where families from all across the Central Coast and beyond have been coming to as part of their holiday tradition for decades.
The well-known farm is located right along Highway 101, just south of the Tefft Street northbound off-ramp in Nipomo and is seen daily by thousands of drivers along the freeway.
Holloway's is now open on weekdays 12 p.m. to 8 p.m and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The farm is scheduled to stay open until Dec. 23 or until its stock of trees run out.
