Legacy floral business under new ownership in Stevens Point

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

March 3, 2025

STEVENS POINT – A decades-old flower shop in Stevens Point has a new name and location after one woman with a passion for the visual arts took a leap and purchased the business.

Suzanne Bostwick – the current owner of Lily & Vine (previously known as Bev’s Floral) – said her career in visual arts began in special effects.

“I was on a reality show for special effects, and I did a lot of fun stuff,” she said. “I had my own business in props and events, and after the show, I was looking to do something I really enjoyed in life.”

Bostwick said she and her husband met and married in Miami, moved to Pennsylvania and then finally to Central Wisconsin – following various business opportunities he had.

“We’ve been here for about 11 years,” she said. “So (I’m) not a native, but I definitely love the snow, and I love the community here.”

As she was exploring what to do next in her career, Bostwick said she found Wisconsin Rapids Floral & Gifts, whose owner – Casey Rowe – took her under her wing and trained her in the art of floral design.

“I really found happiness with flowers, because after the show, I was in a little slump, so just learning from her over five years was really amazing,” she said. “I’m forever grateful to her.”

Following the five years she spent in her mentor’s shop, Bostwick said she was presented with the opportunity to run the floral department at a local Metro Market.

“(It’s) not as fun as (working in) a personal shop, but it was a little more money, and I liked the management side of it as well,” she said.

After managing Metro’s floral department for two years, Bostwick said her family came to a crossroads.

“My husband and I had a big decision to make,” she said “Our son was graduating and going to college, so (we thought), ‘What direction did we want to take with our own lives?’ We decided to stay here in Stevens Point because we absolutely loved it, and we heard that Bev’s (Floral) was for sale.”

The previous owner, Bostwick said, decided she wanted to retire, and it just so happened they were in a position to buy the business from her.

“I wanted to start my own business and move into that,” she said. “It just felt like every door opened up that led to that to be a really easy decision.”

That decision, Bostwick said, was made last year as she officially bought the business in May 2024.

Rejuvenating a legacy

Because Bev’s Floral had been in business for 40 years at the time she bought it, Bostwick said she didn’t immediately change anything – especially the name.

“I didn’t want to change it right away – I wanted people to not even question that there was a change of ownership,” she said. “For the first couple of months, no one even knew I bought it. But when I was changing all of my logos, my merchandising and my website – just remerchandising myself – it just made sense to change the name.”

Bostwick said it was a “scary decision” to change what had become a household name to many in the Stevens Point area.

“In this area, (it) has such a great reputation, and I’m honored to have inherited that,” she said. “That’s part of the reason I purchased it instead of just starting my own shop. Equally, financially, either direction would have been fine, but I knew I was gaining that name, and it was so important. So it was a risky decision to change that, but it has totally paid off.”

Instead of simply mimicking the operations and style of Bev’s Floral, Bostwick said she decided to make it her own – something that’s been well received by the community.

“People feel like the new shop is really rejuvenated and has a new style,” she said. “We always focus on customer service, and a lot of people have complimented our team here. (They are) just youthful, excited, happy and grateful to be here.”

Bostwick said she then made a “second super risky decision” – moving the business from its original location to a Main Street location.

“Now I’ve changed the decades-old name and the location that everyone goes to,” she said. “So it was really, really scary, and I was nervous about a drop in business. But it’s really been quite the opposite.”

Moving the flower shop to its current downtown location at 1036 Main St., Bostwick said, has opened up more opportunities to connect with the rest of the Stevens Point business community.

“We have so much support from the local businesses,” she said. “Each of them came in from downtown and invited us here and told us how glad they were that we were starting here, and they were just so supportive.”

Bostwick said the customers – though initially skeptical about the parking situation – have shown equal amounts of support.

“Parking is not so good, (but), so far, there’s been no parking issues,” she said. “Everyone’s able to get here who wants to, and we’ve had amazing walk-through traffic.”

At the old location, Bostwick said Lily & Vine “had about 150 walk-ins” between October and November.

Now, at the downtown location, she said between December and January, the shop had “more than 400.”

“So it’s been a wonderful move toward being available for the community, and the location is just amazing,” she said.

Growing together

Bostwick said the Lily & Vine team consists of 11 employees – “quite a lot compared to other floral shops.”

“I only have one full-timer, but I have a couple of students that work part-time as designers for me,” she said. “Then I (employ) a lot of retired people who just enjoy delivering flowers (because it) makes them happy to see people’s faces when they give them the flowers.”

Two of Lily & Vine’s employees, Bostwick said, are on the autism spectrum and have “found a home” working at the flower shop.

“They’re really amazing girls, and, in fact, one of them has worked here for 12 years… with (me and) the previous owner,” she said.

Bostwick said Lily & Vine offers more than just flower arrangements – selling various plants, garden decorations, cards and gifts brought to the store by other local artisans.

“That is my No. 1 goal (in terms of) the gift side of my flower shop – to open myself to local artists who want a venue where they can highlight their stuff,” she said. “(I want) to give them an opportunity – an affordable opportunity – to put their art out there and really offer gifts to people based on their artwork.”

Bostwick said clay vases crafted by local artist Ann Kiefer, cards featuring designs and photographs by Stefanie Peskie of Kreations by Stef, candles by Jeannie Marie, as well as SEHR – who also creates stained glass decorations – can be found and purchased at Lily & Vine.

“I just love supporting these local artists,” she said. “And those are just a few that I’ve gotten started with. I hope (to) bring more artists into my shop and see if we can sell their stuff, if it represents what the vibes of the shop are.”

Just as she supports local artists, Bostwick said she also has received immense support from the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point as she worked to establish the shop’s new identity.

“They gave me incredible start-up information,” she said. “(It) was really amazing to have that kind of knowledge base and someone to lean on when I had practical questions about continuing an existing business.”

Bostwick said she also received incredible support from Chloe Kreuser – the executive director of Downtown Stevens Point Business Improvement District.

“She is an amazing resource for grants, loans and networking,” she said. “She really keeps not only me but everyone – other businesses – in the loop (in terms of) networking each other, helping each other out and supporting each other.”

Support from other local businesses and organizations in Stevens Point, Bostwick said, was paramount to her success in rejuvenating the legacy of Bev’s Floral and ensuring the future of Lily & Vine.

“It’s not easy, and I’m getting through it with all the support I’m receiving (from) the community, businesses and my co-workers,” she said. “We’re growing through this all together.”

To learn more about Lily & Vine, visit lilyandvinefloral.com.