Since its opening in 1921, the covered shopping district Nickels Arcade has been a hub for University of Michigan students and the larger Ann Arbor community alike. The Michigan Daily Business beat interviewed some of these businesses to highlight the current state of the Arcade. Read the other stories here.
The University Flower Shop greets Nickels Arcade visitors with a colorful wash of flowers, succulents and other plants. Since its establishment in 1931, the store has adapted to modern times and continued to bring a breath of fresh air to the Arcade.
Danielle Vignos, the store’s current owner, purchased the University Flower Shop in 2015. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Vignos said she worked at the shop during her undergraduate career at the University of Michigan. Vignos originally planned to attend law school after graduating, but instead decided to purchase the shop when it went up for sale.
“I am passionate about small businesses, entrepreneurship, flowers and design,” Vignos said. “My plan was to see if this worked out, and if it didn’t, then I would sell it at the same price I bought it for. But if it did, then it could be something really fun and fulfilling. That was eight years ago, so here we are.”
Vignos said after purchasing the store, she set out to reinvigorate the shop by incorporating modern concepts to the business. This included creating a virtual storefront, renovating the store and hiring a larger staff. Vignos said throughout all of these changes, one thing that has stayed consistent since the store’s opening is its name.
“Keeping the name was very important to me because I liked the idea of trying to restore and revitalize an old business and bringing new life to it,” Vignos said.
University Flower Shop is a member of the Michigan Flower Growers’ Cooperative. Whenever possible, the store sources sustainably grown flowers from local farms in southeast Michigan.
“When I bought the business, we started to move more into locally grown flowers and towards a more organic and natural design,” Vignos said. “Restoring the original vitality to the business into a more modern design, while keeping it authentic, is what we are really trying to achieve.”
Vignos said having her business located in Nickels Arcade has given her a sense of community and belonging.
“The Arcade has such a cool atmosphere,” Vignos said. “I think a huge part of that is because we don’t have cars driving through us which connects all of us together as a little community. Overall, there is a strong small business community in Ann Arbor, but especially in the Arcade.”
Vignos also said the relationships between the different stores in the Arcade is what makes this community unique.
“The camaraderie within the stores that are located here is really strong,” Vignos said. “I believe that in our leasing contract you can’t really have a competitor within the arcade. For instance, no other coffee shop or flower shop is able to be located here. This further fosters this friendly environment where everybody wants everyone’s businesses to thrive.”
Daily Staff Reporter Emma Lapp can be reached at emmalapp@umich.edu.