Maureen's Buffalo Wholesale Florist
Ah, the smell of it. That's a first thought when one walks into Maureen's Wholesale Florist, a pleasure of sight and aroma in the heart of the city. Recently celebrating its 10th year on Ellicott Street in Downtown Buffalo, Maureen's is growing strong.
"I've worked here in the floral district for 27 years," owner Maureen Bartley said. She explained that a hundred years ago, the area she is in was a wholesale district, with the floral suppliers predominantly on Oak Street.
Bartley opened shop 10 years ago when the floral supplies distributor she worked for closed. "The man who bought six of these buildings at auction was a New Jersey developer who I'd known for 20 years because he was a florist supplier," Bartley said. "He told me I should start a flower shop and I said, 'Oh, sure.'" Then her landlord put a cooler in what Maureen described as "just a big cement building," and she was in business.
"I decided to create a different niche and supply wholesale flowers to the public. I opened up as a bucket shop, with prices on the buckets, a very friendly environment," Bartley said. It's not a new idea—they've done it in Europe for hundreds of years," Bartley explained.
When Bartley moved into her shop, the only other businesses on Ellicott were The Golden Swan, McClelland Small Animal Hospital and Buffalo Small Animal Veterinary Services.
And Maureen's opened in a vacuous building with boarded up windows she couldn't afford to replace for an entire year. Her daughter, Suzie, an English teacher in Portland, Oregon is also a very good artist, so she painted the building from end to end with flowers and made signs to put out on the sidewalk. There wasn't a lot of light inside, but the warmth of the paintings advertised well for Maureen's.
Along with big clients who bring regular business, Maureen says she gets a lot of walk-in traffic from the East and West Sides of town. She adds that the churches on the East Side are very particular when it comes to keeping their altars looking good with fresh flowers.
"People come in and know what they want these days," Bartley said. "The public is sophisticated through things like Martha Stewart and bridal magazines." As for availability, "Out of season is really not an issue. We get things from all different countries, and we're at the airport every day picking up shipments. And we've been very, very lucky; everyone here works so hard."
One other way people around town may know Maureen's name is through her son, Aaron Bartley of People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH). "He was always a giving, bright, special person," Bartley says about her son, the activist. Schooled at Harvard Law, and devoted to community betterment, anyone in town would echo his mother's words.
With 34 (mostly part-time) employees between this location and a recently opened shop on Main Street in Williamsville, Maureen Bartley is doing her part to vitalize local economy. She's excited about the adjacent Genesee Block renovations and says, "I wish more people would open down here. I would love to see a dress shop and other things come in. It's such a great area."
Maureen's Buffalo Wholesale Florist
441 Ellicott Street
Buffalo, NY 14203
716.852.4600
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amyws
Last May i was in the market for a florist. We were planning our wedding and I had heard that i should try Maureen's. We had made an appointment and when we arrived for our scheduled time, we were made to wait for almost 45 minutes. The lady that took care of us was very nice and attentive. However when Maureen finally had the time to sit with my mother and i, she was off in a different word. She really didn't want to listen to what i had to say. It was as if she had heard it all before. She probably had, but this was my special day and i should of been giving the utmost attention from her. To top it off, she was rude to her staff. She was talking loudly AT them and when we were talking to the first lady, she was barking at the poor lady and disturbing our meeting. We knew we wouldn't be using Maureen's wholesale. We ending up at Michael's Florist on Kenmore ave. I was happy with them and was giving all the attention i could of asked for. It was less expensive and they didn't charge anything for delivery.....as Maureen's would have. Shop around before you settle for something/someone that you "heard" was good.
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allentowndiva
Maureens rudness to her staff and customers is legend. I bought flowers there once for a dinner party, they were dead before the guests arrived and I had to run to Wegmans for something fresh.
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Clyde
I have also heard stories about what a horrible place this is to work. Maureen screams at employees and reprimands them publicly in front of coworkers and customers. She is notorious for having discrepancies in payroll and treating ex-employees as though they no longer exist when they walk out the door. My exgirlfriend had to threaten legal action to get her w2 before taxes were due.
I've also heard horror stories about sending out second rate flowers in nice arrangements. Maureen's is more of a thrift store for flowers than a wholesale distributor. Be careful if you order from there.
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mdc
I have known Maureen since she opened her flower shop. She did our wedding and every occasion since for the past eleven years. I can't say enough good things about her. She opened a business in an area that was desolate and now is a thriving block. She has always been pleasant and a joy to work with. In fact I left our meetings with her when planning for my shower and wedding with a beautiful bouquet on the house. She has always created beautiful arrangements and to this day remembers that I don't like carnations or mums when my husband stops by her shop to bring me flowers. Most importantly she has amazing prices. Could her critiques be competing Florists??????
I feel that if you have a problem with her service than speak to her directly. This is not the forum to be taking cheap shots at a woman who has done so much for downtown and the community. Any business that can employee 34 people is good for Buffalo's economy.
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mdc
If BR doesn't start doing something about all this personal bashing that goes on here, pretty soon there will be noone in Buffalo that will allow you to run stories about them.
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Clyde
You have to take the good with the bad... word gets out when your service sucks and you treat your employees terribly. Just because the business is in Buffalo doesn't give anyone a free ride to get only good reviews. This is a review with commentary, not a PR campaign.
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Clyde
And for the record.. I am definitely not a florist and I do not play one on TV.
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mdc
Clyde, your ex girlfriend is a former disgruntled employee and there is always another side to the story about her employment at Maureen's. Unfortunately we can't hear all about it because of privacy laws. No reason to trash Maureen based on hearsay from a former employee.
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Clyde
You could take my first hand observations, or the observations from the other two readers who posted before me or you could continue to keep the blinders on and pretend that everything is all good.
Does your first hand observation trump my first hand observation because yours is positive?
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Clyde
One more thing, my ex was very happy when she started there and it didn't take her long before she was looking to leave. Remember, people don't leave jobs they leave managers. Horrible managers create turn-over and problems. How many people do you see consistently when you go to Maureen's?
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LivingForge
I once delivered flowers for a suburban WNY florist and remember driving to Maureen's warehouse to participate in a coop of sorts. If you called a favorite florist in Clarence to order an arrangement to be delivered to a residence in Eden, the driver would have taken that arrangement to Maureen's and handed it off to a driver from a florist closer to Eden. This way floral delivery-people didn't have to waste time and gas driving all over WNY.
Is this still happening? I remember this coop being in existence 10 years ago... today it strikes me as a "green solution."
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eating
I'm surprised by the negative comments here, but there's something to be said for there to be so much venting about one business. That doesn't even happen when they feature a horrid restaurant. I've never had anything but nice experiences at Maureen's, but you have to think there must be a sliver of truth to it or why would the percentage of negative comments be so high?
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amyws
Just for the record....I'm not an ex employee, or know someone who worked or works at Maureen's. I was a potential customer and my experience was exactly what I had said it was. I also received flowers to take home with me. They died the next morning.
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carlmalone
Maureen was actually instrumental in Nazi Germany helping achieve their thankfully failed goal. She currently dates Dick Cheney, doesn't like chicken wings, and is a registered republican
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ECB
Before I ever thought to do a story about Maureen's, I did business there for years--not high volume, and not so anyone would necessarily know me or remember me, just as a random customer. I never had anything but a good experience, and have always liked the atmosphere of the shop.
The workers there, from the "lifers" to the high school and college part-timers, never made me think their sunny dispositions were a ruse for some sort of darker reality. I have never met anything but happiness, friendliness and helpful good will at Maureen's. Then again, I never went in there with a plan for 'my special day'. (Thank God the priest who married me had just come back from Hawaii with armfuls of exotic flowers that he placed all over the altar.)
As for Maureen 'barking' at employees...I imagine that in a business such as this, with important clients, from funeral homes to churches, large corporate clients and brides--all of whom have their own exacting requirements, Maureen herself is the place where quality control begins and ends. In the course of her day, I'm sure she regularly puts out some fires in order to keep operations running smoothly. And let's face it, one person's barking is another's getting a point across--all with the end result of satisfying a client in mind.
I stand by my assertion that Maureen is a good person, her shop is a boon to the area and some of the masterpieces that come out of there are unparalleled in town. I wish I had some shots of the absolutely stunning arrangements she did for the Burchfield Gala earlier this fall. Un-be-lievable.
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carlmalone
She is a businesswomen and people in Buffalo are anti-business. She did our wedding, we asked for a lot, she did a give-n-take making sure she achieved a margin and we got wonderful results. No hitches, flowers were wonderful, everyone was happy. Maybe she should just open a TGIFriday's instead.
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RingRoadRunner
Maureen did the flowers for my wedding and they were exquisite.
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amyws
Actually the barking was to bring more of the roses in from the back. Had nothing to do with a customer and the poor guy looked mortified considering myself and mother watched the whole thing. I'm sure running a business day in and day out is stressful. However, people need to respect each other and not embarrass others and themselves. With all the choices one has in the western NY area, it's nice to know that we can go to a different business and see people treating each other with respect and kindness. There's something to say about that. Again, the lady that had helped us was attentive and nice. It was maureen that had issues.
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Biniszkiewicz
I've gone there for years and never had bad service. I like Maureen and some of her staff (which has pretty low turnover, based on my experience). Never saw inappropriate bossiness, never experienced inattentiveness, etc. I have sometimes bought flowers there that died quicker than I thought they should. But I also bought flowers that lasted longer than seemed possible. Definitely cheaper than almost anywhere else I've seen (though Sam's Club has pretty cheap flowers, too). Aside from Sam's, this is about the only place I go for flowers. Half the price of ordinary florists. Great asset downtown (and very convenient on your way out from the office).
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Dave
Chuck's flowers on Hodge off Elmwood have great prices.
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Assaroni
way overrated...place is marginal at best...she's not very sociable
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tzone
ANOTHER story on Maureen's? Talk about overkill Buffalo Rising! Are they the new Choco-Logo?? I've been here multiple times, and getting service is like pulling teeth with many of the employees. Customer service is not their forte. As the prior comment stated, I much prefer Chuck's on Hodge. Smaller, but more reasonable in price, and much more personable.
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Bukky
I've never had bad service there . It does seem to get pretty busy and some customers seem to think they are more important then the rest of us waiting in line . I've witnessed people demanding immediate service and getting pretty nasty to the staff when they are asked to wait their turn . It also sounds like a few ex employees are on here making up stories . There always is a reason an employee gets the "ex" status . We are only getting one side of the story . Never had a quality problem there either , So I'm doubting the run to Wegmans - did this person maybe leave the flowers in a hot or ice cold car ?
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bfloinvllarta
this is so interesting to me - I understand that people have negative and positive opinions on experiences but I also agree that this isnt really the place to post those kind of comments. BR seems to be a site where we can all join forces in supporting the RISING of our CITY and work together to make the changes happen. however i also understand that if BR is promoting a location and some people dont support that location, then they may want to vent here.
i have been around maureens for many many years, many friends work there, grew up with alot of her employees, worked there for a minute, bought flowers there for many years, attended parties at the location, attended events where she was the floral providor/designer, etc, blah blah blah. i agree that its a stressful business and someone in her position might be loud or rude at times and she may or may not be the worst manager ever. . .BUT, as mentioned above, there are many people that have been working for her for a LONG time and are very happy there. It seems to work and they do what they do well. . .customer service may or may not be their specialty but they seem to get it done.
Also, i think the point of the article was to discuss the fact that she brought business to a district that had none. she is a businesswoman in the CITY of buffalo that wants to support the CITY of buffalo. in a community where so many people are fleeing the city for life in suburbia, opening business in the new trendy districts in the burbs, working only with suburban clients, etc - it is nice to see someone who made her roots in the city and stays in the city. I know that she opened up a shop on main st as well, but she maintained this location. Also, I feel that Elena mentioned her son Aarons project PUSH for a reason - to re-enforce the urban renewal concept and highlight that aspect of the article. They are supporting some great causes in the city and i support them, whether she is a tough boss or not. . . .
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