01/10/2021
We made The Buzz!
After years of working in food service, Greenville's Dean family has changed its focus and opened Dean's List Landscaping, LLC.
John and Leslie Dean, who met more than 20 years ago when they both worked at Tripp's in Virginia Beach, moved to Pitt County in 2007 so John could open the local Tripp's for owner Battleground Restaurant Group.
When Tripp's changed its concept, the couple began working locally with Villedge restaurant at The Hilton-Greenville. John eventually became Food and Beverage Director for the entire Convention Center campus.
The Deans moved to the South Carolina Lowcountry about four years ago when John accepted a job as Food and Beverage Director of The Tides Hotel and Pier 101 at Folly Beach; Leslie worked as a hostess in one of Charleston's busiest restaurants.
"It was one of those chances you can't pass on," Leslie said in an email.
When John was offered the position of General Manager of the Hilton-Greenville, they returned home and Leslie accepted a management position with Villedge.
Then Coronavirus hit and changed the whole landscape of the hospitality industry. Leslie was laid off in March, and John was laid off in the summer.
"After a short time, Dean's List Landscaping was born," Leslie said. "The last couple of years we have dealt with inconsistent landscapers, and if there is anything that our time in the service industry has taught us, it's consistency, quality and professionalism.
"We are fully licensed and insured. John most recently went to Raleigh and passed the certificate test for pesticides.
"Our small family owned and operated company has one person on our payroll, and that's our teenage son -- a sophomore at D.H. Conley."
Dean's List Landscaping offers traditional lawncare services such as mowing, trimming and weeding; mulch and pine straw installation; deck restoration and pressure washing; and the design, installation and maintenance of landscapes and flower gardens.
In addition, Dean's List can help clients design a home vegetable garden and install it, and either teach them how to maintain it themselves or maintain it for them -- "so they can have a produce aisle right outside their door," Leslie noted.
"One of the positive things about school going viral is that our son actually can work alongside his dad," Leslie said. "Our company -- and that experience -- never would have happened had everything stayed the same."
📷: Dean's List Landscaping, LLC