Saying it with flowers
Blooms aren’t just for Valentine’s Day; florists branch out to connect people during the pandemic
For nearly half a century, Alice’s Flower Shop has helped Bethel primp its prom queens, woo young lovers, and fête new babies. This year was slightly different.
When Thanksgivings, weddings and birthdays turned into intimate affairs, and travel was nonexistent, Kathleen Menichelli stepped in to close the distance.
“When people can’t be there, they send flowers!” said Menichelli.
Menichelli has owned Alice’s Flower Shop for 25 years, taking over the business from its namesake, Alice. Although they had a rocky start during the pandemic, business has since been steady. Now, the store preps for Valentine’s Day, arranging orders and standing at the ready for any last minute orders.
Whether the bouquets are sent to celebrate or console, Menichelli loves arranging and sending them out to customers. In return, customers enjoy telling Menichelli about past bouquets she’s done for them— coming into the store to
say they remember her wedding flowers or funeral arrangements. Spending 25 years arranging flowers for a town means lots of connection to the community.
“It’s really like a generational thing because you do their prom corsage and then you do their wedding flowers and then their moms send them arrangements when they have babies,” Menichelli said. “It’s just so nice to know that you played a part in people’s lives, and that they remembered that.”
About 16 miles away in New Milford, Luisa Amaral prepares for Valentine’s Day in her own flower shop, Ruth Chase Flowers.
The original Ruth Chase Flowers dates back to 1945, but Amaral and her husband Tony bought the store 13 years ago. They ended up changing locations, but kept the name “Ruth Chase Flowers” because it was so recognized in the community.
Amaral and her husband have run the business together, with occasional help from their daughters Sofia and Raquel over the years, providing flowers for residents as well as the fire department, schools, and churches. When COVID hit, they pared down their operation for a while. It was just Luisa arranging flowers and taking orders over the phone while Tony ran deliveries. By Mother’s Day, they started bringing some employees back in.
Even in the mayhem of the pandemic, Menichelli and Amaral found joy in their jobs. It often came in the form of calls from patrons making an order. Both said most people are very gracious and thankful over the phone. Some call and just place an order with Menichelli, but other times, she said they tell her a story about the flowers and why they’re needed.
“The stories and reasons people are sending the flowers are particularly heartfelt right now because they’re usually stories of reaching out when they can’t be there,” she said.
Amaral also just loves putting a smile on people’s faces with her arrangements. “It fills up my heart,” she said.
Things are a running bit smoother now, but Amaral misses the customers being able to wander into the store at will. Now, she does a lot of curbside deliveries.
Amaral was born in Portugal and grew up in France, but has been in New Milford for 35 years. From a young age, it was always her dream to work with flowers. She was constantly surrounded by them in her childhood and joked that she would cut off everything around her that was blooming to give to her mother.
But flowers were just a hobby before she bought the shop, so she had to learn on the go.
“I did it! I always said you either have it or you don’t,” said Amaral of the gamble.
Like Amaral, Menichelli also long dreamed of a job in a flower shop, but didn’t have any experience when she first started at Alice’s. Menichelli can still recall a specific flower shop on the main strip in her hometown of Queens, NY. It always had a gorgeous display in the windows when she was growing up, she said. It was the store where her now-husband would buy bi-weekly bouquets before they were married, and the place that eventually did her wedding flowers.
Amaral remembers the bouquet of roses her husband had waiting for her when she met him in America after her visa came through several decades ago.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, both shops have readied themselves for a busy weekend, with plenty of roses to go around. And Menichelli has extra reason to celebrate: she was planning to get a vaccine from the town of Bethel on Saturday.
“That is like the best Valentine’s gift of all time,” she said.