I admit that in my 29 years in the neighborhood, I must have only bought flowers there three or four times. Though the selection at Gloria Flower Shoppe was limited, they always had beautiful roses and lilies. I suppose the owners concentrated mostly on supplying wreath for funerals.
Back then, there were fewer places were one could purchase bouquets or houseplants in Carroll Gardens. Unlike today, not many of the delis carried fresh-cut flowers.
I always loved the green and white tiles in the display window as well as the terrazzo entrance that sported the store's name.
I am not sure how long the store had operated at this location, but the awning still display's a telephone number without an area code, which would indicate that it has been up since at least 1984, when Brooklyn was assigned the 718 code. (Can anyone tell us when Gloria opened?)
One does not see many stores for sale on Court Street. This one is listed by Brooklyn Real, which has an office just across the street.
Any information about the history of the store would be greatly appreciated.
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9 comments:
This is a very vague memory, but I grew up in the neighborhood (born in '66 and spent my childhood on President & Henry Street), and I have a memory of Gloria being on Henry Street in the VERY early '70s. It would've been between President and Henry (closer to Henry), but not where the laundromat is (that was Leotta's Bakery), but rather next door. They moved out of that storefront while I was quite young, though, as it was turned into an apartment while I was still in grammar school (I had cousins who lived there). I'm unsure if Gloria moved directly from Henry to its current Court Street location, or if there was a spot or two in between, but that's my recollection!
I was a regular at Gloria intermittently over the past 30 years since I moved to the neighborhood. Sal died suddenly on Halloween. He was 70. His parents opened the shop at it's current location in 1947. The terrazzo floor they installed is still near pristine. Around the 50th anniversary (so 1997 I guess) he had dug up some old photo's he had displayed for a while. His day to day selection was limited but always fresh and around holidays he had a big selection including exotics. His prices were extremely reasonable. I'm not so chatty and neither was he but he was a decent, trustworthy guy and a loss to the neighborhood.
Thank you so very much for this, Anonymous. I did not know Sal personally, only by sight.
I am glad you shared this information.
When my sister moved out of state, she called Gloria's to send our Mother a bouquet. Gloria's did not take credit cards, but Sal had the flowers delivered on my sister's word that I would go in and pay for it.
I was so pleasantly surprised by that old-time way of doing business. But Sal noted--Well, your sister told me where your mother lives. It still makes me smile.
I bought flowers from there a few times over the years... Hopefully the (overpriced) bar or restaurant the takes over the space will leave the beautiful floors alone.
What a lovely story. How many storeowners would deliver goods on the promise of getting paid these days.
I'm 53 and knew Sal my entire life, personally, and as a florist. Sal was a good man, quiet, honest, nice guy. He did originally carry more of a selection until little deli's opened nearby and then he just went into plants, funeral, roses, etc. The flowers were always fresh, and he never "upped" the price on holidays like other do, ie Valentine's Day. He would always take people on their word. If you ordered over the phone, you could just go in and pay him when you passed by, whether it was a day later or a month later. As far as I know, he always operated in the same location - it was his Mother's florist from back in the 40's. Unfortunately, he was a one of kind and he will never be replaced.
Whenever I ordered something special like gardenias or black roses...they always came through with a smile.
I have always considered that floor one of the gems of our neighborhood. How very sad that we have lost another linchpin.
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