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It’s bigger on the inside — and residents who have stepped into Rouvalis Flowers and explored the newly opened shop have pretty much had the same reaction.
“It’s beautiful, stunning,” said Becky Kuhlman, who was in the store for the first time on a sunny morning. “I love to have live stuff in my house and this is a great place to come for a fresh bouquet and shop local. I love to shop local.”
Jenny Ryer was also at the 25 Thompson St. store for the first time.
“I think it’s just beautiful,” Ryer said. “What a nice place to walk around and be in. There’s so much to look at and see. There are such beautiful things.”
The activity and nice words bring a smile to owner Emily Montany’s face, as residents walk the bright, airy shop investigating not only flowers and plants, but home décor.
“People have been very excited and it’s so nice to hear,” Montany said, taking a break from the bustle. “It’s been a lot of hard work to get this space up and running.”
Winchester opening
If the name Rouvalis Flowers seems familiar, it’s because the shop has been around for 40 years. Just not in Winchester.
The original location is at 40 West Cedar St. in the Beacon Hill area of Boston. It was there that Montany’s husband, Sean Murphy, went to work for the owner, Bill Rouvalis, in 2007.
In 2009, the couple took over from Rouvalis, who passed away, and have carried on the name for the past 15 years.
So how did they get to Winchester?
“I put a bug in their ear,” said Samantha Meehan, one of the company’s lead designers. “Our delivery range is the [Interstate] 95 belt so it made sense to come this way. And of course, I selfishly wanted to come home.”
Meehan grew up in Winchester and still lives in town. In fact, she even worked at Kabloom, a former flower shop once located on Thompson Street.
And she’s excited to be working closer to home.
“The space is gorgeous and it’s been hard to get it ready,” she said. “Beacon Hill is a small shop and we opened the first studio in the South End, but it was just me and Emily in there. Then we moved to a bigger space in Charlestown, but this is great and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Montany said it’s always been a dream to open up a second location, but it was really about finding the right fit.
“Beacon Hill has a great community,” she said, “so we knew we had to have another wonderful community. We’ve always loved Winchester and many of our customers come into Boston and we have employees from here.”
The couple toured the Thompson Street space last October.
“It reminded me of our shop,” Montany said. “Then I walked through and saw some more and I got more excited.”
The lease was signed and work changing the interior began in January. Montany said the goal was to give the space a homey feel, designing different areas that draw customers to the different products the store offers.
The work finished in mid-March and Montany and company immediately began cleaning, decorating and filling the space with the products she’d been gathering since last summer.
The doors opened April 23.
“We got our official sign off [from the town] at noon,” she said, “and we opened at 3 o’clock.”
So far, reactions have been positive and residents have been popping in to check out the shop. Montany has enjoyed talking to customers and is looking forward to seeing what the community needs and wants.
“We’re just really looking forward to being part of the community,” she said.
Rouvalis Flowers is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The store will also be open on Mother’s Day, May 12.
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