Pecan Hill Florist & Gifts, Groggy Dog Tees

The term ‘full house’ does not begin to describe the household of Montgomery Mayor Kirk Jones and wife, Emily, who are raising three teenagers and operating two family businesses all under one roof.

Emily, a Montgomery native, and Kirk, originally from Herford, met while attending Texas A&M University in College Station. The couple married and returned to Montgomery to open their own business after the birth of their first child.

The Joneses purchased Pecan Hill Farms from Emily’s mother in 2000 and relocated the business to the first floor of their home in the heart of Montgomery’s historic district. The couple refocused the business to offer flower arrangements, home decor and knick-knacks, and renamed the shop Pecan Hill Florist and Gifts.

“Emily had never made flower arrangements before,” Kirk said. “Her mom gave her about half a day of training and that was it—she’s just a natural at it.”

In spring 2015, Kirk decided to open a satellite store of his brother’s Denton-based company, Groggy Dog Tees, at the same location as the flower shop. The custom T-shirt store specializes in personalized clothing.

“I like the creative aspect of [this job],” Kirk said. “There’s a bit of anticipation because you tell the designers an idea, and you just patiently wait to see what they came up with and then seeing how the customer reacts to it.”

Both owners said they hope one of their children would be interested in taking over the businesses once they get older, to keep the businesses in the family.

“I grew up here, and we’ve been here for 17 years as a family,” Emily said. “I work with the Boy Scouts, and Kirk works with the City Council. We both are very involved with our community, and we want the community to support local Montgomery businesses.”