A dream come true
Pair committed to taking care of their customers in the way they always have.
Cousins share passion for design at family flower shop in Piqua.
When it comes to fresh flowers, opinions are mixed. There are some who believe they are pointless because they will eventually wither and die — and others who appreciate their beauty and are devoted to sharing them with the world.
Mindi Hixson of Troy has been around the flower business all her life. Her uncle and aunt, Mark Casto and Kim Hampshire, owned GeNell’s Flowers in Piqua since 1982, after purchasing it from the original owner GeNell Horner.
“As a little girl, I remember coming to the shop and my Aunt Kim would let me pick a flower out of the cooler,” Hixson said. “It always felt so magical being there.”
As Hixson grew, her love for flowers did also. Even after going to college at Wright State and then Ohio State University, where she earned her degree in communications in 2001, Hixson said she always found time to work at her family’s little flower shop.
“I moved to Indiana and then to Williamsburg, Virginia,” Hixson said. “I worked as a financial planner and in employee benefits.”
But Hixson said she always knew she wanted to go into some type of community service. She got married and had a daughter and decided to stay home with her while she was small. Eventually, the family returned to Miami County and Hixson started working at Standard Register in Dayton.
“It was a rough time in my life,” Hixson said. “I lost one of my close friends in 2016 and Standard Register filed for bankruptcy.”
At that time, Hixson’s cousin, Casey Virgallito, had taken over running GeNell’s Flowers. Hixson talked to Virgallito about working with her in the shop.
“My heart was always with flowers,” Hixson said. “But financially I was focused on my career in human resources so I could help take care of my family.”
In 2020, everything changed with the worldwide pandemic causing a shutdown and resulting in the loss of many people to the COVID-19 virus.
“So much happened and I realized how short life is,” Hixson said. “I needed to get back to where my heart has always been — with flowers.”
Hixon and her cousin started talking about what the family flower shop needed, and Virgallito asked Hixson if she’d be interested in becoming part owner of GeNell’s.
“It sounded like my dream was coming true,” Hixson said. “We became official partners on January 1 of this year.”
Virgallito took over ownership of GeNell’s about 10 years ago, after she finished college. She earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and has a PhD in economics. But the pull to work in the family flower shop was strong.
“I had no intention of doing this initially,” Virgallito said. “I wanted to find my own path.”
But no matter where she worked or what she did, Virgallito said she missed interacting with customers. And she missed the flowers. In 2021, she officially purchased the business from her mom, who wanted to retire from full-time work.
Virgallito said that having Hixson by her side today is pivotal to helping her make decisions and brainstorming for new ideas.
“Mindi and I complement one another so well,” Virgallito said. “We saw the opportunity together, and we split up what needs to be done to run the business while thinking about ways to grow it.”
Hixson agrees that they both have a passion to serve customers, many of whom have become like family.
“It’s just nice to grow up in a smaller area where everyone knows everyone,” Hixson said. “We have taken care of generations of customers.”
The cousins maintain a relatively small staff of seven with Virgallito’s mom still working part time during the busy holiday seasons. And this year, they are celebrating 75 years in business.
“GeNell started this business in downtown Piqua in 1949,” Virgallito said. “She moved to our current location just outside of downtown in 1970.”
During 2020, Virgallito and her team worked quickly to offer online shopping to their customers. This became important during the pandemic lockdown, because customers wanted to send flowers to friends and family members they couldn’t see in person.
“I think one of the things that is a common thread throughout our business is emotion,” Hixson said. “We translate people’s feelings into flowers. We know we have a strong foundation in the community, and we take that very seriously.”
Building upon that foundation is something both Hixson and Virgallito know will help them grow their business. At the same time, they are committed to ensuring they are taking care of their customers in the way they always have.
“We want every flower delivered, to every event, to be flawless,” Hixson said. “We know how important it is for people to feel we care about them. They come in for everything from planning weddings to ordering memorial flowers. We are dedicated to creating an exceptionally positive experience.”