Flowers for Dreams opened a retail location in Parker’s Alley by the Shinola Hotel in downtown Detroit just as the pandemic began. Less than 18 months later, the brand, which donates 25 percent of all net profits to local charities, is set to expand its footprint.
Flowers for Dreams, established in Chicago in 2012 by Steven Dyme and Joseph Dickstein, on Friday will host a grand opening at its new local headquarters in the Eastern Market district. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Friday and a grand opening party, with free flowers available, begins place at 4 p.m.
The 6,000-square-foot floral design studio and walk up flower shop at 1490 Gratiot Ave. will serve as Flowers for Dreams’ location for deliveries, along with hosting weddings and other events. It will have six to eight employees on site daily. The new Gratiot Avenue space features a planted courtyard for community events and local artist collaborations. Its Parker’s Alley location employs two to three staffers daily.
In one year of being in Detroit, Flowers for Dreams has donated closed to $20,000 to local charities including Alternative for Girls and The Detroit Justice Center. Over its life, it has donated close to $900,000 of its net profits to local charities in Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit, Dyme said. A donation advisory committee made up of employees, nonprofit leaders, stakeholders and community leaders chooses the nonprofits to support.This year’s focus is on supporting Black, Indigenous and other people of color-led causes.
Dyme, a 30-year-old Chicago native who lives in the city, said they are focused on building a great Midwest company. He said a variety of factors played into establishing a headquarters in Detroit, into which it has invested “six figures.”
Flowers for Dreams, which offers same-day local delivery and overnight shipping to eight states, said its footprint made Detroit a logical destination to set up shop.
“Logistically, we’ve built a supply chain through Chicago and Milwaukee that’s Midwest based. A lot of our flowers are local,” Dyme said.
“We had all our roots planted, so it made sense to go to other major metropolitan areas,” he added. “All of our headquarters are driving distance to one another. It made sense from a cost perspective. Culturally, with our business being what it is and our commitment to community, we’ve known about Detroit for a long time. We’ve got friends who lobbied for us to come. Something we’ve found again and again here is that same commitment to community. It goes without saying that the Eastern Market is an incredible art and creative community.”
