Roy’s Florist establishes new roots Notre Dame staple shifts to new home in St. B after six decades By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 5:38 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 21, 2024

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No more parking in the back.

For more than 60 years, customers travelled down Notre Dame Avenue to buy bouquets and bonsai trees at Roy’s Florist.

The central Winnipeg staple was a Valentine’s Day hub and a go-to for visitors of the nearby Health Sciences Centre.

It was also home to a massive blaze in 2009, and a just-as-great rebuilding effort. Now, despite a recent migration, the classic neon sign with the red arrow still bedecks the building: “Roy’s Florist,” and underneath, “Parking at Rear.”

“It’s … a very good advertisement,” owner Debby Chan said with a laugh.

She’d wrestled with moving from the shop’s long-time location. Ultimately, change won: “You cannot just be sitting on the old spot at the corner store forever.”

As of this spring, Roy’s Florist calls the St. Boniface neighbourhood home. It has a new sign — one showcasing its wares along Goulet Street — and parking in the front, something Chan repeatedly enthused about.

The move is “very positive,” she added.

Chan sat behind a counter, looking into the new shop she helped construct, one that mimics the old digs. A sprawling tree acts as the store’s centrepiece; to the left are fridges from the Notre Dame Avenue locale, stocked with flower arrangements.

In the back, a walk-in cooler was constructed building-block style — another Notre Dame transport.

There’s already been more foot traffic, Chan and veteran staff member Terri Holroyd said.

“The other area, we were seeing less and less walk-ins,” Holroyd said.

She started work with the company more than 30 years ago. When the women’s centre in the Health Sciences Centre relocated to William Avenue from Notre Dame — the new, larger operation opened in 2019 — business began to shift for Roy’s Florist, Holroyd said.

It was a slow decline. Lately, the space felt “kind of empty,” Holroyd described.

Chan said she began searching for a new place roughly a half-year ago. Front and back parking was required, for customers and for staff.

She swapped the old house for a strip mall. Now, the florist neighbours a nail salon, thrift shop and chiropractor. St. Boniface Hospital is just down the street.

“It’s a good little strip, for sure,” said Delaney Tycholis, a staff member at Reclothify, the nearby thrift store.

She’s noticed customers popping into the nail salon and Roy’s Florist before visiting Reclothify. The well-established flower shop is good for business, she added.

“They have a really good reputation, and I think that’ll only bring more people.”

Reclothify plans to collaborate with Roy’s Florist on projects, like art to sell, Tycholis said.

Loyal customers from the Notre Dame years have found their way to St. Boniface, Chan said. Even one of the store’s original owners, Ronnie Kaita, stopped by and gave their stamp of approval.

It’s perhaps the most significant change in the shop’s recent history.

There have been tweaks, throughout the flower shop’s life, to match the current decades: digital records have replaced handwritten invoices, staff no longer receive payment in envelopes weekly.

Roy’s Florist is on the major online delivery platforms such as DoorDash and SkiptheDishes. Those orders can be challenging, Holroyd noted.

“They want it in, like, five minutes,” she said, adding it’s been good business.

Chan doesn’t plan to take down the Notre Dame Avenue sign anytime soon. Storage is an issue — and now, despite the original sign’s insistence, parking is in the front.

Meanwhile, 710 Notre Dame Ave. sits empty. “For lease” signs stare at the street; online, the site is listed for $3,000 per month.

The second floor of the 3,050-square-foot building is good for offices or bedrooms, the listing describes. It’s been advertised for nearly four months.

The Kaitas — Ronnie and his brother Roy — opened Roy’s Florist in 1960, selling gladiolas, fruits and vegetables. Later into the operation, they focused on the blooms.

Chan joined the shop as a university student in the 1980s. She left for Hong Kong and came back to Winnipeg for family; in 2019, she bought the business.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com