Rising costs, labor shortage, uncertainty of the pandemic all contributed to decision to wind down 104-year-old floral shop
A mainstay of Harvard Square is shutting its doors, another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic and its wide-ranging disruptions.
Randy Ricker, owner of Brattle Square Florist, e-mailed customers Monday to notify them that the 104-year-old flower shop will close at the end of January. Rising costs and limited availability of flowers and materials, as well as a widespread labor shortage and deteriorating real estate, contributed to the decision, Ricker said, as did the personal toll of running a small business on a daily basis over the last nine years, especially the last two.