Archives: Media Room

Print
Universal Hub

One fewer local store in Harvard Square: Brattle Square Florist to close doors

The Brattle Square Florist, open for more than 100 years, will close next month.

Owner Randy Ricker, who bought the Brattle Street shop nine years ago, says he’s reached a business and personal breaking point, with a pandemic on top of everything:

On the business front, challenges continue to mount. Prices for plants, flowers and hard goods have risen dramatically and we are struggling to maintain our margins. Availability of product has never been more challenging. We are not able to attract and retain staff who are critical to our operation. While the store is a magical place to visit, the conditions of our space are also deteriorating. The prospect of continuing operations during an ongoing and unpredictable pandemic is daunting.

Print
Clear Publicist

Iconic Harvard Sq. Flower Shop Closing Soon after 104 Yrs In Business – CBS Boston


CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – An legendary Harvard Sq. flower store is permanently closing its doorways immediately after 104 several years in company, citing in element difficulties brought about by the “daunting” COVID pandemic.

Brattle Sq. Florist will shut on January 31, operator Randy Ricker announced on Monday. Ricker stated challenges on the business enterprise entrance that “continue to mount” led to the decision to shut.

“Prices for vegetation, flowers and challenging products have risen radically and we are struggling to sustain our margins. Availability of products has under no circumstances been a lot more hard,” Ricker said in a assertion. “We are not equipped to bring in and retain staff members who are essential to our operation. While the retail store is a magical area to check out, the disorders of our room are also deteriorating. The prospect of continuing operations through an ongoing and unpredictable pandemic is challenging.”

Print
Boston Globe

Brattle Square Florist to close doors after 104 years

“The prospect of continuing operations during an ongoing and unpredictable pandemic is daunting.”

A Harvard Square landmark announced Monday that it’s shutting the doors.

Brattle Square Florist cited the ongoing pandemic, along with supply chain problems, deteriorating real estate, and the labor shortage as the reasons the 104-year-old business will close its shop at the end of January, according to the Boston Globe.

Print
The Bharat Express News

Iconic Harvard Square flower shop closes after 104 years in business

CAMBRIDGE (TBEN) – An iconic Harvard Square florist is shutting down permanently after 104 years in business, citing in part the challenges caused by the “intimidating” COVID pandemic.

Brattle Square Florist will close on January 31, owner Randy Ricker announced on Monday. Ricker said business challenges that “continue to mount” led to the decision to close.

Print
Bollyinside

Iconic Harvard Square florist closes after 104 years in business – NewsBoston

“Prices for plants, flowers and hard goods have risen dramatically and we are struggling to maintain our margins. Availability of product has never been more challenging,” Ricker said in a statement. “We are not able to attract and retain staff who are critical to our operation. While the store is a magical place to visit, the conditions of our space are also deteriorating. The prospect of continuing operations during an ongoing and unpredictable pandemic is daunting.” Brattle Square Florist will close on January 31, owner Randy Ricker announced on Monday. Ricker said challenges on the business front that “continue to mount” led to the decision to close.

Print
CBS Boston

Iconic Harvard Square Flower Shop Closing After 104 Years In Business

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – An iconic Harvard Square flower shop is permanently closing its doors after 104 years in business, citing in part challenges caused by the “daunting” COVID pandemic.

Brattle Square Florist will close on January 31, owner Randy Ricker announced on Monday. Ricker said challenges on the business front that “continue to mount” led to the decision to close.

Boston Globe

After a century, Brattle Square Florist to close its doors

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.

WBUR

OBERON, a theater haven for the local and the fringe, closes its doors

Back in 2009, Robyn Giragosian was in need of a place in Boston to perform her burlesque act. Onstage, she was Femme Brulée, and her routines usually involved an elaborate costume of her own making, which she then stripped off, piece by piece. Once, she performed a strip tease to Britney Spears’ “Piece of Me” in a pizza costume. (“A Pizza Me” – get it?) Another time, she did a number dressed up as a lobster, wearing a shiny red corset and tap dancing while she whipped off her fake appendages.

Giragosian was part of a group of performers who liked to do wacky, high-concept shows. The venues around town didn’t quite cut it. “We were performing at the YMCA in Central Square,” she says.

Boston Globe

Wusong Road softly opens in Harvard Square

Soft openings: Harvard Square’s Wusong Road (112 Mt. Auburn St.) is quietly open in the old Les Sablons space, with 50 seats and a limited dinner menu Tuesday through Saturday. On the first floor, a Hong Kong-style deli with barbecue rice plates will debut during the second week of January. In the meantime, head upstairs to try American-style Chinese food (summer rolls, Peking ravioli, chicken fingers) and tiki drinks.