Flower Shop Is a Bright Bouquet of Bloom

Mary Zoltowski is at the height of her busy season.

“The week leading up to Mother’s Day makes up about 35 percent of the store’s business,” says Zoltowski, 47, owner of Moorestown Flower Shoppe, a prominent fixture on Main Street for decades (and ).

With Mother’s Day celebrated yesterday, and a bundle of communions, graduations, proms and weddings on the horizon, Zoltowski says lately she’s on her feet multitasking into the night.

With an abundance of floral requests, she relies on a handful of family members—including her husband, Steve, 42—to pitch in at the last minute.   

But she isn’t complaining. Because just like most other small businesses, Zoltowski saw income wither as a result of a sagging economy—with 2010 being one of her slowest wedding years, even though the shop’s been renowned for its stylish bridal designs for years.

“I think brides cut back on spending and had smaller weddings,” says Zoltowski, who takes part in local wedding shows throughout the year.

She says controlling costs and an unwavering clientele have helped keep the shop from failing.

“In fact, this town stays true to local businesses.”

Zoltowski adds that by patronizing local floral markets, customers actually benefit fiscally. Many shop owners—like Zoltowski—have direct relationships with their growers, bypassing the middlemen; thus, no additional expenses are tacked onto the costs of the flowers. 

The smell of seasonal flowers—hydrangeas, peonies, tulips—grown on South Jersey farms beckon visitors into the stately shop, with its 10-foot ceilings, oak flooring adorned with Oriental carpets, and a bevy of armoires filled with jewelry and gourmet foods, some of the fine extras carried by Zoltowski.

“The owner told me the building will be turning 100 in 2014,” says Zoltowski of Tom Spena, who founded the Moorestown Flower Shoppe 45 years ago.

In an earlier life, Zoltowski worked for Verizon. With a journalism degree from LaSalle University, she was hired as a speech writer, but by the time she left the communications conglomerate 25 years later, she was handling million-dollar budgets in the compensation department.

Growing weary of the corporate grind, Zoltowski actively started searching for her own business, something she had always wanted to have. 

“Managing Verizon’s money for so many years taught me how to facilitate strict accounts, which has helped me handle my own funds,” she says.

Even though she didn’t have any floral background, she fell in love with the shop six years ago.

“And especially after meeting Tom [Spena], I knew this was something I’d be happy doing,” says the Philadelphia native. “Tom was just so enthusiastic about the business.”

Contrary to what some may think, the individual Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah holidays are not as intense as other times of the year, yet collectively they make up 30 percent of the store’s annual profits.

“We have a month to spread out the orders, so it’s a smooth distribution of work,” she explains.  

With all the milestones and celebrations during the calendar year, the single busiest day for Zoltowski’s shop is all about love: Valentine’s Day. 

Regardless of the economy, says Zoltowski, business blooms on that day, sometimes surpassing more than 300 orders, with roses still the number one requested flower.

Getting those flowers delivered on time are the shop’s two delivery drivers. There's also a flower processor, who is responsible for flower arrivals, cuttings and the pricing of each species. 

Plus, Zoltowski says her two floral designers are always present to guide clients in selections and are willing to create boutonnieres, bouquets, corsages and centerpieces to match the latest trends. 

“If someone comes in with a picture, the staff will try to duplicate it the best they can," she says. 

As the mother of a recent bride, Zoltowski knows the anxieties and jitters surrounding a big day.

“My daughter knew exactly what she wanted: gerbera daisies,” says Zoltowski, who also has two sons, ages 12 and 17. “So it made it a lot easier for me.”