Longtime floral design company
Eastern Floral has launched a new kind of flower venture in downtown Grand Rapids' Shops at Monroe Center and Division, (MoDiv, 40 Monroe Center NE) -- a cash and carry flower shop designed to fit the needs of downtown dwellers and workers.
The shop,
bokay by Eastern Floral, has more of a flower cart kind of feel than a flower shop atmosphere, says Eastern Floral President Jason Goei.
"It's kind of out in the open in the lobby of MoDiv," Goei says. "We want to get people thinking about Eastern Floral in a different way, to reach that downtown shopper that we've never really had."
The shop, which opened Dec. 2, specializes in hand-tied bouquets that are easy for customers to carry back to their offices or take home to put in their own vases. Tying the bouquets allows them to keep their design intact.
"We're showing different designs and styles and even different flowers and greens than in traditional cash and carry bouquets," Goei says. "We bring fresh flowers in everyday; we're making them up at the main store on Butterworth, then selling them the same day and bringing in fresh the next day."
The shop carries a few vases, some potted plants and a few gift items, but the focus is on the ready-made bouquets. Customers wanting custom flower arrangements or delivery would still order through Eastern Floral's main store.
"We wanted to support a retail business model that could mesh with what we're doing at the
Goei Center to support small businesses," Goei says. "People are happy to have a florist downtown again and we're getting a lot of good feedback we hope will translate into sales down the road."
Store hours: Mon., Weds., Fri., Sat. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tues. and Thurs., 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Source: Jason Goei, bokay by Eastern Floral
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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