Escambia County flower shop has made Mother's Day memories for a century

Bright mums, pink Gerber daises, white hydrangeas, green stems sprouting half-bloomed, yellow gladioli and much more than just a lily or two line the walls of Grandview Florist.

For the last century, the storied flower shop has been selling Escambia County residents flowers to give to the most important people in their lives.

As one of the greater Pensacola area's oldest and longest continually operating local businesses, Grandview Florist celebrated its 100-year anniversary earlier this month.

This weekend's Mother's Day will mark the 100th in a row that the small flower shop, currently located north of Pensacola in the small community of Gonzalez, has sold its flowers to hopeful gift givers.

"We're doing well," said Carolyn Brewton. "We're still doing real well."

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Roots of Grandview Florist in Florida

Brewton, 78, of Gonzalez, is the current and latest member of her family to own and operate Grandview Florist.

Her grandmother, Elizabeth Krebs, originally opened the Florida-based iteration of the flower business May 1, 1922, and ownership has stayed in the family ever since.

Before then, Krebs lived in Dayton, Ohio. She moved out of the state after a divorce from her second husband.

"Grandma was a very smart lady," Brewton said. "But she had a poor choice in men. Very, very, very smart businesswise and could grow anything — anything. But she was not good with men."

The family legend is Krebs' decision to move to Pensacola was based on seeing an advertisement for Florida in an Ohio magazine.

Regardless of the reason behind her choice, when Krebs did move to the Gulf Coast, she brought her two daughters and already well-established Dayton flower business with her.

"We assume it'd been in Dayton for about 40 years prior to the move. But we don't know, because the courthouse burned and everybody has passed," Brewton said. "So, we can't say that we are 140. We can only, truly say that we're 100."

Business blossoms over the decades

The business was originally situated on Old Palafox Street. Over the years, it switched locations to Pauline Street in Gonzalez and then to its current address at 1370 South U.S. 29 where it's remained for the last 60 years.

The original name wasn't Grandview Florist, but Grandview Gardens, because florists use to grow their own flowers.

Krebs purchased 104 acres of land when she arrived in Escambia County and built vast greenhouses in which she grew her shop's flowers. She also planted fruit trees on the property.

At one time, Krebs even had enough homegrown plants to act as a type of wholesaler, sending bushels of cut flowers back to Ohio for her old contacts to sell in their own stores.

"There was a post office down here and we, us kids, use to take them and go down there and watch them put them on the train," Brewton recalled about her grandma's flowers.

The out-of-town letters, packages, Krebs' packed flowers and any and all other cargo would be gently tossed onto the slow rolling train.

"It just had an open thing and they just threw it on. That's when I was little. That's a long time ago. But, oh, if he ever missed one," Brewton remembered about the post office worker. "Oh, that was wonderful, if he missed getting it on there."

Brewton cherishes an old black-and-white photograph of herself at age 4 working in her grandmother's garden. The old snapshot is worn, and on the back, it's dated Jan. 22, 1948.

"They would cut the hoe and shovel handles off so I could use them because I was short. I was little," Brewton said. "So, I've been at it 74 years."

'It definitely has a legacy to it'

Eventually, the florist industry changed. It became more cost-efficient for local businesses like Grandview Florist to purchase their products instead of cultivating them.

But despite how the industry has changed over the last century, the little flower shop in Gonzalez is a solid, profitable business with a dedicated staff.

Rick Brooks started working at Grandview Florist 35 years ago.

"I was a delivery driver when I started and then one thing just kind of led to another," Brooks said Wednesday while unpacking new merchandise in preparation for crafting a flower arraignment.

The store's other longtime employees include Kathy Elliott, Jean Huff and Mary Robbins.

"It definitely has a legacy to it," Robbins said of the business.

Brewton said the shop's customers were key in helping the business survive during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our customers bought everything they could from us," Brewton said. "All my employees, I had to cut hours a little bit and they stayed with me. And that was the last couple years, but even then, we were able to stay afloat."

Henry Arnold walked into Grandview Florist just as Brooks was about to begin work on his newest flower arraignment.

Arnold, the pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, has been purchasing flowers for both his church and his own personal purposes from Grandview Florist for at least the past 25 years.

"They're great. They're the best," he said, later adding, "They do wreathes and everything for death, and I like to use them for myself, personally."

Another longtime costumer, Laura Cook, said the florist was a special place.

"They've done a lot of proms and funerals and Mother's Days and a lot for the community," Cook said. "They consider what the customer wants and have tried their best over the years to keep their prices down as best as they could.

"They are just a really loving group of people there that know what their business means for the community."

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia County's Grandview Florist marks 100 years of flowers