Wendy PuttFresh Cut Catering & Floral60 • SEPTEMBER 2021
– W O M E N I N B U S I N E S S –A D V E R T O R I A LThe lavish settings Wendy Putt creates forweddings and other events is a long way fromthe cricket farm she grew up on in Byram.“My mom and dad raised crickets for the baitand pet industry,” she says. When she went tocollege to study nursing, her dad told her that’snot what God was calling her to do. So, Wendyenrolled in the retail floristry managementprogram at Mississippi State. “I worked on arose farm to make extra money,” she says.Always very project-oriented, she had foundher ideal profession.“My first job out of college was workingfor McCarty-Holman in Jackson, purchasingflowers for the floral departments in all theirstores. For me, it was the most fun job ever!I was ordering from Miami and California.Every floral department had specific flowersthey needed.” Two years in, a headhuntercalled and told Wendy about a position withHallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri.“They were doing a market test on puttingflowers into their 5,000 stores, and theywanted me to be the buyer. I met with growers,and I moved around from Kansas City toBaltimore to Indianapolis. I loved it! But afterone year, they stopped the market test, and Iwas without a job.”Wendy wasn’t sidelined for long. “My dadflew up to Kansas City to help me move home.We were driving back and stopped in Jackson,Tennessee. I saw a little floral kiosk namedFresh Cut. I told my dad I thought that wasa great name for a business.” She startedfreelancing for weddings and events. “My dadoffered me a little concrete building on hiscricket farm to use, and I was thrilled to haveit. I worked out of that little building forfour years!”In 1992, Wendy met the man she wouldmarry the next year, Bruce Putt. “We bought alittle house on Highway 49 South that wascommercially zoned. We put in a couple ofcoolers and started operating out of that space.”Adding catering to the mix, Fresh Cut Cateringand Floral has continued to grow. They built alittle commercial kitchen in 1996. “Bruce is anexcellent cook. He worked at Puckett Machineryduring the day, and we would cook allnight. We hired a lady who was a line cook tohelp, and we hired two delivery people. Hequit his job in 2006 and came on full timewith our business.”They eventually moved their residence toSheffield Drive in northeast Jackson whiletheir children were attending Jackson Academy.“I helped my parents out on their cricket farmto earn extra money.” These days, Wendy saysBruce spends his time “in kitchen world” withthe chefs, line cook, and dishwasher at theirheadquarters in Flowood. “That’s his domain.”Wendy says she spends a lot of time in thewarehouse with “the guys.” She does inventory,packing and on-site installs as well asconsultations and planning.Julia, who also studied floral design atMississippi State, joined the business full timein May 2018. “Julia has so many new and freshideas,” says Wendy. “Her design ideas are topof the food chain! I’m so impressed by herincredible imagination. She comes up with themost amazing ideas and I’ve got the redneckMacGyver skills to make it happen!”Wendy’s business grew despite not having abusiness model or plan. “We kind of made itup as we went along!” But sometimes womenin business just get things done because theyinstinctively treat their customers the way theywant to be treated. Treating customers rightand tending to their needs is what Wendy sayshas caused her business to grow. “We all care alot about our customers, and they know it.”Through the years, the business has grownto include two event venues, The SouthWarehouse and The Railroad District, as wellas a brand-new headquarters and showroom inFlowood. Even a major fire didn’t stop Wendyand her crew from moving ahead. “We openedGalleries Event Rentals at 115 Cypress Cove inFlowood on March 1 last year, and on March20, it burned to the ground. It was a total loss– all that was saved was the concrete slab. Wehad put so much effort into it, includingbuying product for five years that we had keptin storage until we got the new building built.But the blessing was that no one was hurt. Wekept on going, and we rebuilt. Our new placeopened in February of this year.”Wendy says her biggest satisfaction comesfrom seeing the look on a customer’s facewhen they see the space for their event. “Westart from a room that looks like nothing andtransform it into something wicked awesome!When we see them walk into the space andrealize we’ve made it theirs, it’s the best feelingin the world!”For more information on Fresh Cut Catering and Floral,visit www.freshcutofjxn.com.Hometown RANKIN • 61