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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2015)
PAGE A6, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 20, 2015 Keizer Florist set to reopen March 2 By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Car after car pulled into the parking lot of the fl ower shop both Feb. 13 and 14, with reg- ular customers getting out to buy fl owers for Valentine’s Day. Except there were no fl ow- ers to be bought at Keizer Flo- rist. Lisa Vasquez and her hus- band Rich bought the busi- ness from Julie Wallace earlier this year, with the sale closing on Feb. 4. Lisa is busy getting things up and running for a re- opening on March 2. The store closed shortly before Christ- mas. The new opening date means Keizer Florist was closed for Valentine’s Day – traditionally the busiest day for a fl ower shop. “It was torture,” Lisa said of not having fl owers to sell. “For so many of the people, for years they pull up and pick up fl owers for Valentine’s Day. I lost count of how many people came up and saw the store was closed.” With the sale closing short- ly before the big day, Lisa said there wasn’t time to get things like taxes, fl ower accounts and a myriad of other details ar- ranged in time. “We didn’t want to open when we weren’t ready,” said Lisa, who noted she has hired three of the store’s former em- ployees. “All of these things have to happen before you can start. Last Friday was the worst. It was the same on Saturday. People didn’t see the signs and just came up to the door. There wasn’t much I could do. Whenever we saw them pull up, I would open the door and greet them.” If there was a silver lin- ing, Lisa found out something about her customer base. “My belief is there’s a large, loyal following,” she said. “Most people said they would be back. That made me feel good. I will have to do some- thing nice for the loyal people who come back. A lot of the loyalty is due to the staff that was here.” An information technology consultant whose husband is retired, Lisa has always been on the lookout for business op- portunities. “I have always been pushing to own my own business,” she said. “This wasn’t on my list, to own a fl oral shop.” Lisa saw an ad on Craigslist in early January about the busi- ness being for sale, then soon met with Wallace and her re- altor. Lisa and Rich, who moved to Keizer in 1996, had some familiarity with the business. Rich became a regular cus- tomer shortly after that and got to know previous owners. Once the opportunity came up, it was Lisa pushing forward. The couple will be an FTD fl orist, while also selling local fl owers. In the days since the sale, they have been getting up to speed. “Rich has been reading up on FTD systems,” Lisa said. “He will be our driver at fi rst. He will be the support system. The business side I have down. I’ve been a government em- ployee and I worked for two large companies, but I have to be schooled on fl ower arrange- ments. My team will school me. I can be trained on the job or FTD offers courses. They have courses on the business side, classes on how to arrange fl owers and they have webi- nars. FTD has been around for a long time, so I’ll take advan- tage of that.” In talking with her team, Lisa has decided not to con- tinue the drive-through coffee window. “They did coffee and baked goods, but the team said it was slow,” she said. “It was a lot of effort, so we’re not going to keep it. I told them to just fo- cus on awesome fl owers. There is a higher expectation here (for fl owers), because you will pay more. I want it as close to perfection as a human can get.” In addition to fl owers, other items like vases, truffl es, small gifts and cards will be avail- able. Eventually Lisa wants to give the store at 631 Chemawa Road NE a more contempo- rary look. “The real point is the fl ow- ers,” she said. One focus for Lisa will be different price ranges. “I want to focus on afford- ability,” she said. “I want to KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy Lisa Vasquez is the new owner of Keizer Florist on Chemawa Road NE. have it where a customer can still buy something nice even if they don’t have a lot of mon- ey to spend. We will run the gamut. That is very important here because this is a working community, not a luxury com- munity. I don’t want people to come in and not be able to buy anything.” Along those lines, Lisa has a picture in mind of the perfect customer. “I look forward to the fi rst time a little kid comes in with change and wants to buy a fl ower for mom,” Lisa said. “That will be the best sale.” Business&Services APPLIANCES ATTORNEY Nigel Guisinger • • • New Owner Estate Planning Elder Law Probate Social Security Attorneys at Law 503-304-4886 Experienced Knowledgeable Friendly • Personal Injuries Worker’s Compensation Personal Injury • Auto Accidents 3800 River Rd N in Keizer 503-390-0161 ATTORNEY Walsh & Associates Jean M. Fischer Come See Our New Showroom • Wrongful Death 503-371-9636 • Auto Accidents Wills & Trusts Asset Protection Medical Directives Guardian & Conservatorships Free Consultation No fee until we win 5605 Inland Shores Way, Suite 206 APPLIANCE CR ATTORNEY Richard Walsh 503-463-8388 CR 5845 Shoreview Ln. N. 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