Goodbye, The Flower Shoppe, and hello, Northern Roots.
Not only does the Oconto Falls floral and gift store at 224 N. Main St. have a new name, it has a new owner as well.
That new owner is Lori Fournier, who recently purchased the business from Melanie and Matt Rice. Fournier is no stranger to the business, as she worked at The Flower Shoppe for 18 years.
Melanie Rice’s parents, Jim and Sandy Hanson, returned to their hometown of Gillett and opened a flower shop in 1978 without a background in flowers.
“They did not know anything about the floral industry,” she said. “They lived in Milwaukee and knew they wanted to get back home to Gillett. They wanted to open up their own business. They didn’t know what it was. My life could have been very different, because they were looking at a sporting goods store and an egg farm.”
Rice was 10 years old at the time and grew up in the business, which included a second store that opened in Oconto Falls in 1988. Oconto Falls didn’t have a flower shop until The Flower Shoppe opened at its current location.
“I don’t know if it was the chamber or the city, but they wanted to bring a flower shop here,” Rice said. “They already knew and liked us and asked if we would open up one here.”
Although the Rices recently stepped aside from running the Oconto Falls store, they continue to operate the greenhouse in Gillett.
“I was actually in college when they opened this store,” Rice said. “I grew up in Gillett and didn’t work in this store until I moved back in ‘98 and started managing this store. That was not the plan. I think God brought me here. I was working at a flower shop in La Crosse and knew I needed a change. Because I hadn’t been managing a flower shop for quite some time, it felt pretty smooth for me. It was probably a little bit more difficult for my husband, because he sold cars and then started selling plants.”
Rice and her husband owned and operated the store in Oconto Falls since 2003 and officially stepped aside Dec. 31.
“My kids didn’t show an interest in taking over, so I knew I had to sell to somebody,” she said. “Lori has been here a very long time, so I asked her what she thought about possibly buying it. It was time. We needed to start slowing down a little bit. We thought we would run the greenhouse now, and that’s a job in itself, so it’s not like we’re retiring or anything. I feel like I’m finally going down to one job.”
The Rices eventually approached Fournier and asked if she’d be interested in purchasing the business.
“I was a little surprised, because I didn’t think she was ready to move on, but it’s good timing, and I’m glad to bring my kids in,” Fournier said. “It’ll be fun for us to all do it together. I can stay with doing the arranging and the store, and they’re going to do some of the business aspects of it. It’s nice to bring in a little younger vibe.”
Her son, Aaron Fournier, and daughter, Abby Dey, have joined the business, now known as Northern Roots.
“I feel like we have northern roots,” she said. “We’re up north kind of girls. Since I’ve been here so long, I think it’ll be fun to take a new role and do a few different things. I always felt like it was sort of a family here, and now it really will be, because my kids will be here. I’m really looking forward to working with them and seeing what they can do in the business. My daughter’s helped on different holidays, but it’ll be new for them.”
Fournier left The Flower Shoppe in 2020 to open a flower shop in Marinette.
“I was there for a year and it was called Northern Roots,” she said. “COVID hit and the owner of the building wanted to sell, and it wasn’t good timing. I wasn’t going to buy the building when we were half open. I came back to work here.”
The Flower Shoppe — and now Northern Roots — assists customers with flowers for different occasions, including Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays and funerals. The business eventually ventured into gifts that include decorations, knick knacks and clothing.
“When my mom and dad bought this, it was primarily fresh flowers, silk arrangements and stuff like that,” Rice said. “It only took up half of the store. When I look back at photographs, there was so little in here. (Jim Hanson) decided to make it bigger, so they blew out the wall and really got into a lot of gifts. We try to buy things that are different.”
The Rices closed the flower shop in Gillett about 1 1/2 years ago.
“That was part of the plan, to slowly make it manageable,” Rice said. “Our Gillett customers now come here. The main customers are local, but we do get people from all over. Let’s say there’s a funeral. People are calling from all over to send flowers to a service that might be at Jones Funeral Home. We met a lot of people that just stop in. People are like, ‘What is that?’”
Fournier and her family are looking forward to running the business.
“It was something I always wanted to do,” she said. “I think it’ll be exciting. It’ll be the same in a lot of ways, because I have been here, but it’ll be fun to do some new things and bring some of my own ideas into the place.”
