Beloved Truro Florist Selling Business After 37 Years
TRURO — Robin Young has spent the last several days preparing for the rush of business that florists receive on Valentine’s Day. But this year is bittersweet for Young and her many loyal customers. After owning Jean’s Flowers and Gifts for 37 of the business’s 45-year existence, Young is retiring.
Jean’s isn’t closing its doors, but Young has put the business up for sale. So far, there’s been interest, but Young couldn’t go into details about potential buyers, or give a timeline on when a sale might happen.
“I’ve been in the business basically since I was in high school and I’ve loved every minute of it. But it’s time for me to sit on the beach a little bit more,” said Young, who learned to be a florist from her parents.
“Yes, I’m ready to retire, but it is emotional. When you’re a florist, you really get to know your customers. Some of them I knew when they were born and most of them I did their prom flowers and did their wedding flowers. Now, they’ve had babies now and I’m doing their babies’ flowers.”
When news broke that Young had put Jean’s up for sale, it was clear her customers also felt emotional about the upcoming retirement. Young received an email from one of her patrons from Halifax that touched her heart.
“…On every occasion, happy or sad, and all the important milestones in between, you have delivered beautiful flower arrangements for generations and every branch of our family. We hope a savvy and energetic entrepreneur will make you an offer you can’t refuse to carry on the success you’ve achieved.”
“We wish you and your husband many years of health and happiness as you travel to parts unknown in your RV. Enjoy days where all you have to think about is filling the tank, cranking the tunes, and taking nobody’s orders but your own.”
The email touches on a unique trait of being a florist: for all the happy moments one makes flower arrangements for, there are also the sad ones.
“When you’ve been here this long, you become quite close with your customers; you almost feel like a member of the family because you go through so much with them. You go through lots of fun times but [you] also go through hard times with them too. It’s a little different relationship than what some other merchants might have.”
But, since it’s February, Young thinks back to some of the grander acts of romance she has seen as a florist over the years. Once, a man placed an order so grandiose, young assumed she misheard him over the phone.
“Sometimes people get confused on the phone and they’ll say ‘I want 12 dozen roses’. And I know they mean they want a dozen roses. But a guy called a few years ago and said he wanted 12 dozen roses, so I clarified with him, but what he wanted was 12 vases with a dozen roses because his wife had said she just wanted a house filled with flowers.”
One of the more incredible stories involves a regular customer who never missed a single Monday for his usual order. It has to be one of the sweetest stories out of any flower shop.
“I used to have a gentleman customer who’d come in every Monday and buy his wife a pink carnation. And he did it every day, every week. From the day he got home from the war. Now I wasn’t here right from the beginning of his routine. But every time he came in on the Monday, he’d have his suit and tie on, and this was the only place he was coming in. And he was just the sweetest kind of lovely man.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].