An ownership change has taken place at Wallaceburg’s downtown flower shop.
Wallaceburg’s Eleena deBakker, the manager of Westbrook’s Flower Shoppe, is now the owner.
“It was actually an odd situation, I kind of stumbled upon it,” deBakker told the Sydenham Current.
“The first day I started I loved it and it just went from there. It has been great the last two and a half years and I’m super excited about it.”
deBakker purchased the business from the long-time owner of the 603 James Street business, Mark Persyn.
“Eleena approached me two and a half years ago about working in the flower shop and purchasing the business, and it has finally happened,” Persyn said.
“Eleena has done an excellent job in two and a half years. She’s probably the perfect candidate to take over the business.”
Persyn said he still hopes to work at Westbrook’s on a part-time basis.
“I have some other projects I need to work on,” he said.
“Over the years I’ve worked a lot of hours here. So, it’s time to focus on some other things. But if they get busy and need someone to help out, I’ll be glad to come in.”
Persyn, who started as a delivery boy 32 years ago, originally purchased the business in 2001 from Ted Westbrook, who opened the business 41 years ago in downtown Wallaceburg.
“I have been told by many people that Ted brought style to our town,” deBakker said.
“He had a zest for flowers, but also carried all sorts of home décor. His customer base began to grow and the Westbrook’s name started to become recognized, we still have many customers who have shopped here since Ted’s first day opening the doors.”
deBakker said she has learned lot from the crew working at Westbrook’s.
“Mark, Nancy, Ted and Brianne taught me everything they knew about flowers, and how to create high quality and modern design for this little community of ours,” she said.
“Nancy taught me all about weddings, how to achieve the brides dream flowers. Mark specialized in funeral arrangements… he seems to always be able to capture the essence of a person through his designs. They are truly artists and I’m so lucky to have learned from the best. We will continue to carry lots of decor and household items that are unique, I also hope to start doing wedding registries, so that people don’t have to leave Wallaceburg to find the perfect wedding gift.”
For more details about the business, visit them online, here: http://www.westbrooks.ca/
