Creativity will bloom

Piccolo's Florist & Gifts will open a new store in the former Flowerama building near 80th Street and West Dodge Road with a “you design it” approach and contemporary décor to differentiate it from its other Omaha locations.

The new store is just one of several changes the chain's owner, an Atlanta-based company, has made or will make in its Omaha-area floral shops.

The West Dodge store will have carts holding different flowers, allowing customers to walk through the showroom with a floral designer and hand-pick selections. They then can be made into an arrangement by the customer, the floral designer or the two together, according to the company.

The concept addresses restrained spending by eliminating or lowering the floral designer's fee, but it also is meant to tap into the do-it-yourself trend, said Kevin Smith, Piccolo's general manager.

“I think people like to help create (something) to give because they can say, ‘I helped create this for you,'” Smith said. “It adds a lot of value to the gift.”

The opening is part of a consolidation that started several months ago at the chain, which is under new ownership, Smith said.

In fall 2008, McCarthy Group, an Atlanta-based florist company, bought the Omaha area's three Piccolo's stores at 7660 Dodge St., 611 N. 98th St. in Clocktower Village, and 1502 Galvin Road South in Bellevue.

It opened a fourth location that fall, at 83rd and Maple Streets, in the former Martin Pastry & Emminger Bakery building.

Also shortly after the purchase, McCarthy Group, which is not related to the Omaha-based investment group by the same name, moved the central Piccolo's store on Dodge Street to 333 S. 72nd St. That space, formerly an Arby's restaurant, is just south of Dodge.

Smith said McCarthy Group CEO Brian McCarthy prefers to own rather than rent store locations, so he decided to close the Clocktower Village and Bellevue stores earlier this year and consolidate those operations in the Maple Street location.

The closings were unrelated to the economy, Smith said. Rather, they strengthened the company for future expansion, Smith said.

McCarthy's company dates to the store his father opened in 1925 in Scranton, Pa. He is committed to the Omaha market, Smith said. McCarthy operates 20 stores in seven states, including Nebraska.

“We're brainstorming on another location in Omaha, too,” Smith said. “If it was economic-based, he wouldn't spend the money to remodel the West Dodge store and think about a fourth store.”

The store at 8026 West Dodge Road is scheduled to open Saturday or Monday and will be fully operating by Halloween weekend, when a grand opening is scheduled, Smith said.

The Flowerama store in the building closed in 2008 when its owner retired. Flowerama is a franchise operation based in Waterloo, Iowa.

Another Flowerama, owned by a different franchisee, remains open at 14265 Pacific St.

Piccolo's remodeling at the West Dodge Road store included painting the exterior the company's trademark bright lime-and-wine combination and decorating the inside with “a lot of black and metal, coppers, bronze and a lot of glass,” Smith said.

“This will be a very trendy flower shop. We want to do something that is modern and chic.”

The contemporary feel is part of a strategy to give each Piccolo's store its own feel and function, he said.

The 72nd Street location serves as a drive-up facility. The company plans exterior remodeling and landscaping through next spring to give the building a cottage feel, including adding a butterfly garden. Customers can call in orders and pre-pay by credit card.

“It's more of a ‘flower-hop,' kind of like the old car-hops, so you can drive up and away you go,” he said.

As the new design center, the Piccolo's on Maple Street will create and distribute most delivery orders. The company also will remodel its exterior to resemble an English garden, which is a larger version of a cottage garden and includes trees and paths, Smith said.

The West Dodge store, with clean lines and black flooring, is meant to be Piccolo's “Zen” location, he said.

He said Piccolo's is doing well despite lower consumer spending. Still, the store has adapted to new spending habits that might cause people to buy lower-priced flowers more frequently than to splurge on an occasional fabulous arrangement costing $500, Smith said.

“We see the market as going up right now. Even during the World Wars, people still bought flowers. They spent less money on flowers, but they bought more often. You're starting to see that now.”

Contact the writer:

444-1183, christine.laue@owh.com

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