A longtime Bangor florist is moving to a new downtown space that will be both safer for staff and have a larger display for customers.
Lougee & Frederick’s, Inc. aims to move to an empty storefront at 21 Washington St., next to Quality Jewelers, on April 1, according to employee Mark Pellon, who has worked as a florist locally for more than 40 years.
The space was most recently occupied by Maine Micro Artisans, which opened in August 2024 before abruptly closing for good four months later.
Lougee & Frederick’s, Inc. has moved around Bangor several times during its 85 years in business. The florist has sat in its current location, a former house built in 1836 at 345 State St., for 14 years, Rhoda Burke, owner of Lougee & Frederick’s, Inc., said.
At 18,000 square feet, the shop’s new storefront will provide more showroom space to display flowers for sale as well as additional staging areas for staff to create arrangements. The business will also likely need to hire more staff to compensate for additional space, Pellon said.
“Growth comes with a lot of little problems,” Pellon said.
Burke said the move is necessary because the business simply outgrew its current location. A larger space will also allow the shop to expand its offerings, including its card and green plant selection.
“Where you have limited space, there’s a limit to what you can offer,” Burke said.
The new location will offer 70 feet of cooler space compared with the business’ current location that only has a 15-foot cooler section, Burke said.
Burke said she also intends to start offering a section where customers can purchase chocolates from Westbrook-based Haven’s Candies by the pound.
Burke said she also intends to start offering a section where customers can purchase chocolates from Westbrook-based Haven’s Candies by the pound.
With the additional room, the business hopes to offer a refrigerated section where customers can choose their own flowers and make their own displays. Pellon also hopes to offer small classes where people can learn how to make arrangements, he said.
Pellon said customers have also been looking for more gifts since Rebecca’s Gift Shop on Main Street and the Christmas Tree Shop on Hogan Road closed in July 2024 and July 2023, respectively. Having a larger storefront will allow the business to stock more gift items in addition to flower arrangements.
The new location will be on one level, Pellon said, which will be safer than the business’ current location that has workspaces and storage on the second floor and in the basement. Occupying multiple floors requires staff, many of whom are older, to carry large containers and arrangements up and down the stairs throughout the day, he said.
“On a given day, the stairs alone can give you quite a workout,” Burke said. “Being on one level is going to be phenomenal.”
The new location also has a large delivery bay in the back left over from when Damon’s Beverage and Redemption was in the space before moving to its current Hogan Road location in early 2022. Larger doors will allow staff to create and move larger arrangements safely.
The delivery section of the business will also be completely separated from the space where employees design arrangements and each employee will have their own work area. This will prevent design and delivery staff from “tripping over each other,” especially on busy days, Burke said.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated how old Lougee & Frederick’s, Inc. is. The floral shop has been in business for 85 years, and has been at 345 State St. for 14 years.