Florist shop blooms again after being destroyed by fire

By: Jennifer Pawluk Posted:

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Like a perennial plant, Roy's Florist is opening again.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/12/2009 (6125 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Like a perennial plant, Roy’s Florist is opening again.

A faulty wire ignited a fire that destroyed the store in March, and Michael Kaita knew he had to start from scratch to rebuild the family business.

"We got to build a dream flower shop from the ground up," said the owner of the shop, located across from the women’s hospital on Notre Dame Avenue.

BORIS.MINKEVICH@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Roy's Florist is back in business after a fire earlier this year. Celebrating the opening are (from left to right back) David Nishimura, Terri Holroyd, Cathy Kaita and Michael Kaita. Lily and Ron Kaita are holding flowers in front row.
BORIS.MINKEVICH@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Roy's Florist is back in business after a fire earlier this year. Celebrating the opening are (from left to right back) David Nishimura, Terri Holroyd, Cathy Kaita and Michael Kaita. Lily and Ron Kaita are holding flowers in front row.

All three levels of the building were damaged, Kaita said. While the fire gutted the entire main floor, water used to fight the fire flooded the basement and smoke ruined the upstairs rooms.

After months of renovations and rebuilding costs amounting to roughly $300,000, Roy’s Florist celebrates its grand re-opening today.

Kaita said his 78-year-old father, Ron, works the hardest of anyone at the shop and hardly recognizes the place he co-founded with his brother, Roy, almost 50 years ago.

The shop was designed in warm, earth tones and has an 11-foot Ming Aralia tree growing out of the floor and extending to the ceiling.

"I wanted it to feel very earthy … that warm feeling," said Kaita. "It feels like a home in here, not a business."

jennifer.pawluk@freepress.mb.ca

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BORIS.MINKEVICH@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Roy's Florist is back in business after a fire earlier this year. Celebrating the opening are (from left to right back) David Nishimura, Terri Holroyd, Cathy Kaita and Michael Kaita. Lily and Ron Kaita are holding flowers in front row.

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Like a perennial plant, Roy's Florist is opening again.

A faulty wire ignited a fire that destroyed the store in March, and Michael Kaita knew he had to start from scratch to rebuild the family business.

"We got to build a dream flower shop from the ground up," said the owner of the shop, located across from the women's hospital on Notre Dame Avenue.

All three levels of the building were damaged, Kaita said. While the fire gutted the entire main floor, water used to fight the fire flooded the basement and smoke ruined the upstairs rooms.

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