Leiby's: A Weston Cornerstone for Generations

For more than 50 years, has been a Weston cornerstone, a success longtime owner Ruth Leiby attributes to a loyal client base spanning generations.

Part landscaping business, part flower shop, Leiby’s was first opened in 1959 by Ruth Leiby’s landscape architect father, Arthur. Leiby's made its debut as “strictly a landscaping business,” Ruth Leiby said. The store transitioned to its current incarnation as part flower shop in the 1970s because “the public expected to find plants and flowers when they came in.” Currently, the shop does a “pretty even” business between landscaping and selling flowers, she said.

From its early days to now, during which the store moved from its original Center Street location to its current one at the back of 430 Boston Post Road, Leiby’s has served countless customers, many of whom stop in to the store “just to feel happy.”

“It’s an upbeat business, a happy place,” she said. “People sometimes come in to look around just to feel better, and we encourage that.”

Upbeat environment or not, a slow economy is a slow economy and Leiby’s has felt the same pinch as many other small businesses in recent years, though Ruth Leiby feels they’ve fared better than some others.

“We’ve had to cut some hours here and there, but we haven’t had to lay off any staff,” she said, estimating that seasonally, the number of employees varies from seven to 10. “(The economy) has presented challenges for the past two to three years, so we’ve tried to pull the reins in and keep control of things the best we can.”

Such measures include being mindful of stocking product that consumers are more likely to purchase when their expendable income is reduced. On a recent afternoon, Leiby and Katie Berger, store manager, talked about some of the store’s top sellers, listing perpetual favorites like lilies and roses, and also plants and flowers apt to last longer.

“Orchid plants seem to be hot right now,” said Berger. “People like anything that’s easy and lasts a long time.”

All in all, sales during the past few months have left Leiby feeling encouraged. But ultimately, she said she attributes the store’s staying power to what she calls a “loyal client base” composed of “older folks, then the next generation, and at this point, the generation after that.”

“We’re very appreciative of the town. We’ve had a great deal of support,” she said.

Editor's note: Leiby's Flower & Garden Shop is the fourth of several small businesses that Weston Patch has recently profiled. Look for the profiles on Monday afternoons.