A Legacy Florist
In 1925, Thomas Kegan opened Blossom Flower Shop of Fordham on the corner of Fordham and Webster Avenue. He was a Greek in the middle of an Irish neighborhood, a former boxer, and a keen businessman. He quickly connected with the other business owners in the community, such as the shoemaker, the butcher, etc. In those days, everyone helped each other, and the neighborhood was everything.
Kegan proved to be an ambitious, progressive florist with a gift for marketing. Blossom Flower Shop flourished thanks to his forward-thinking approach. When he retired in the 1980s, having already passed the baton to his son Thomas H., he left a wealth of experience and knowledge in his wake. One kernel of passionate advice he told his son was, "Your name has to be a part of what you do." His desire to always have the shop located on a corner for more visibility and to reach more people was another. To this day, Blossom Flower Shops can still be found on the corner, however, this time at McLean Avenue and Sterling in Yonkers, NY.
Under the leadership of Thomas H., Blossom Flower Shops continued to grow in all ways, expanding to several stores and sharing in co-op buying with other local florists. Their partnerships recalled those earliest days in the Bronx when the whole neighborhood banned together to lift one another. Together, the network pooled its resources, ensuring that the freshest and highest quality flowers would get to the people who wanted them as efficiently and economically as possible.
Thomas H. handed the keys over to his son Kevin when he was just 21 years old. Over the decades, Kevin and his wife Sue brought the same energy and vision to ensuring Blossom Flower Shops' success. While keeping the roots of the business and upholding the core values of Blossom Flower Shops, Kevin and Sue expanded their sources for florals to include more of the United States, Europe, and South America. Growing the shop's flower selection and seasonal inventory created a diverse collection of the best blooms in all of Yonkers and White Plains, NY.
Kevin and Sue passed the baton down to Sandra Brennan and her husband Brian, who currently own and operate Blossom Flower Shops. Both Sandra and Brian are native to the west of Ireland. Although Sandra is from Roscommon and Brian Mayo, they met right here, on McLean Ave in Yonkers, NY. At a young age, Sandra began working at Blossom Flower Shops as an assistant designer but was quickly taken under the wings of Kevin and Sue, who trained her in every aspect of the business. Sandra learned the ins and outs of floral design, maintenance, sales, and running and operating the shop on her own, allowing Kevin and Sue to take some time off and enjoy more vacations with confidence that their shop was in the best hands.
After Kevin and Sue became her mentors, Sandra also looked up to them like parents. The shop has always meant everything to Sandra, and it became a lifelong dream to be a part of its great success. Even when she was not scheduled to work, Sandra spent every opportunity in the floral shop. To say she is living the American Dream would be an understatement.
Today, the shop sources amazing flowers from across the world and serves it, too. As one of the first 50 florists to go digital, Blossom Flower Shops has been online since 2000. Our reach may be bigger than ever, but we're still the neighborhood florist on the corner.
