Mulch Men Take Over Ballantyne, One Yard at a Time
by Nell Thomas | April 13, 2025 | Strolling Ballantyne Contributor, The Charlotte Mercury
Ballantyne is used to premium service. Golf lessons, custom closets, and contractors who charge like theyâre quoting the Pentagon. But this summer, a new kind of operation is cutting through the noiseâand the overgrown yards.
Charlotte Mulch Men and More is the brainchild of Ryan George Merritt and a fellow college student who are doing what most local contractors canât seem to manage: showing up, doing the work, and charging fair prices. From early May to mid/late August, these two run a full-throttle home services business out of Ballantyne Country Club, and itâs changing how people around here think about âsmallâ jobs.
đ 704-989-1554
đ charlottemulchguys.com
They handle mulching, power washing, car detailing, junk hauling, and light landscapingâthe exact kinds of tasks that usually result in ghosted appointments or gouged prices. But hereâs the twist: theyâre not doing this to scale into the next ServiceMaster. They’re just two students who spotted a gapâand filled it with sweat, reliability, and a pickup truck.
âWe saw a need,â Merritt says, âand decided to actually do something about it.â
Two Students, One Summer, and a Whole Lot of Mulch
Ryanâs roots run deep in Ballantyne. His family moved from Indian Land when he was in fourth grade, and heâs lived at 15118 Ballantyne Country Club Drive ever since. His father, Ron Merritt, serves as CRO for Hearst Media, while his mother, Kim, runs a successful interior design business. His sister, Alex, is a junior at Ardrey Kellâand the family dogs, Snoopy and Philly, are reportedly terrible at yard work but great morale boosters.
Charlotte Mulch Men and More is built on the kind of hard-won trust few teens can boast: a reputation for follow-through. While others post flashy Instagram reels and then forget the appointment, these two show up and get it done. Every time.
Forget ContractorsâBallantyne’s Got the Mulch Men Now
These guys donât pretend to be a jack-of-all-trades. Theyâre very clear about what they offerâand what they donât. Their sweet spot is the work you canât do yourself and canât get anyone else to take seriously. That includes:
- đż Mulching & Landscaping
- đŚ Power Washing
- 𧟠Car Detailing
- đ Trash/Junk Removal
- đ âAnd More,â with fair warning and honest labor
No fluff, no excuses. Just solid work from college students who hustle harder than most adults with trucks and a license.
And if theyâre not exactly posting time-lapse reels just yet? Donât worryâitâs coming. Merritt says social media is on the way, though between jobs, customer service, and actual manual labor, the marketing plan is still on the âto mulchâ list.
âď¸ Until My Next Cup CoolsâŚ
â Nell Thomas
Senior Writer, The Charlotte Mercury | Contributor, Strolling Ballantyne
đ cltmercury.com | đ strollingballantyne.com
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