The History Of Rexburg’s Original Flower Shop
By Cole Driggs
REXBURG—Rexburg Floral, located at W. 2nd North and N. Center Street, offers signature and customized bouquet and flower arrangements. However, do you know what’s behind the bouquet? Rexburg Floral provides a different perspective on the narrative of Rexburg’s growth.
Starting Rexburg Floral
Today, Rexburg Floral is owned by Bruce Sutherland of Rexburg, but it started way back in 1937. His father Brent Sutherland, 18 at the time, started the business as a way to earn extra income for his family. To put this in perspective, this was only 54 years after Rexburg was founded. While starting up the business, Brent attended Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) for about a year. He was married in 1940, and in 1942 he went off to serve in the war while his wife, Pearl, kept the flower shop running at home.
After the war, Brent grew a separate company building greenhouses while working at Rexburg Floral on the side. He sacrificed a lot for his family and for the companies and community he helped grow. Bruce purchased the business from his father in 1980, and eventually served as mayor of Rexburg, from 1998 to 2004. The greenhouse business was sustainable until about 2002, but Rexburg Floral stayed afloat.
Growing Rexburg Floral
Sutherland managed these companies by enlisting the help of his brother.
“(Managing everything) was good,” he says. “My brother would manage most of the heavy lifting then I would come in during rushes.”
Ever since, Sutherland has influenced the community in countless ways through the hundreds of bouquets and arrangements that his shop offers. BYU-Idaho noticed this, and Sutherland facilitated the creation of the horticulture/floral program at the university. Due to Sutherland’s success, university officials frequently asked him for advice and guidance.
Thousands of students have benefited from Rexburg Floral’s success. Sutherland offered the opportunity for these students to receive internships through his store and has given back to hundreds of students.
Today, Sutherland and his daughter Marianne Weeks operate Rexburg Floral, prioritizing a customer-first atmosphere at all times.
“We are a full-service florist…We stand behind our customer service,” Weeks says. “If you are not happy, we try everything we can to make it right.”
Rexburg Floral’s flowers come from as far away as Ecuador—a testament to the business’s vision of quality versus quantity.
“We order really good products, we insist on the very best flowers,” Weeks says. “We don’t buy seconds (second-hand flowers). Many businesses do all they can to cut costs… but for us, that is not a sacrifice we are willing to make.”
Customizable pieces are also available.
“We do custom pieces. People bring all sorts of stuff in, (such as) tractors, hats, boots. We want people to come on in for the personal one-on-one, instead of the average bouquet”
Planning Rexburg Floral’s Future
Within the next few weeks, Rexburg Floral’s history will add a new chapter. Weeks will take over the company in the late fall and has big visions for the company. Within the next few months, Weeks wants to bring even more people into the store through workshops, more social media interaction, and more word of mouth.
Overall, Rexburg Floral has shaped the lives of Marianne, Bruce, and the countless students that have entered its doors.
Weeks reflects on her best moments operating Rexburg Floral.
“There is a lot of emotion captured in flowers,” she says. “Flowers are healing, so being able to use flowers to help soften someone in a hard time, or celebrate someone in an exciting time makes me so happy. Sometimes, I come here and I am a little bit grumpy, but by the end of the day I end up saying, ‘Oh, I love this.’”
Rexburg Floral is located at 175 N. Center Street in Rexburg. More information can be found on their website at rexburgfloral.com.
