By Mick Dillon / The Jambar
In its 78th year of operation, Edward’s Flowers is still a staple of Youngstown’s Wick Park neighborhood.
President and owner Mitchell Cohn has operated the family-owned flower shop since he took it over from his father, Edward, in 1992.
Edward’s Flowers works with clients such as Youngstown State University, Mercy Health St. Elizabeth hospital in Youngstown and various funeral homes in the Mahoning Valley. Cohn said the local community has always been an important part of his business.
“I’m not in it just for the money — it’s obviously to help this community. We’ve stayed here for 78 years [on] the same block, ” Cohn said.
Edward’s Flowers was originally located at 818 Elm St., but moved down the block in 1980 to its current location, 911 Elm St.
Cohn said the shop’s biggest issue as of late is hiring new employees.
“Right now, it’s a hiring issue … this isn’t a field that people are going into and it’s a lot of work,” Cohn said. “You have to be talented enough to see what you’re going to make and then make it.”
Cohn said he urges YSU students looking for a full-time job to apply to Edward’s Flowers.
“I’d love for people to just walk in and ask for a job … I need to have someone that’s going to be reliable — be here every day,” Cohn said.
After losing its local wholesaler, Youngstown Plant and Flower in 2022, Edward’s Flowers faced new challenges importing flowers from different cities and delivering them to customers in the Mahoning Valley.
“It’s a lot more difficult running a day-to-day operation now because we lost our wholesaler that was the only one in town. We have wholesalers coming in from different states, [including] Pennsylvania and New Jersey,” Cohn said. “I can call today, place an order before [4 p.m. and] it’ll be here tomorrow morning by 10 a.m.”
As Youngstown has changed over the years, Edward’s Flowers has found ways to adapt. Cohn highlighted the hard times his shop endured over the years.
“We’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs. The steel mills closing in the ‘80s, COVID-19 — the last big hurdle. But it does okay … I’ve got a great team here,” Cohn said.
As for the future, Cohn hopes to see Edward’s Flowers continue to grow within the Mahoning Valley.
“As of right now, we’re just going to keep going with the same vision of … what the city can bear us staying here,” Cohn said.
