WHOLESALE FLOWERS "TO THE PUBLIC"

OUR STORE IN NEWPORT BEACH 3975 BIRCH ST. OPEN 7 DAYS
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Ingrid Kassman opened the shop, 1 800 Rose Big, as part of a larger business of importing flowers from South America and selling them to retail shops. The 3975 Birch st. Newport Beach store lets retail customers buy the roses at discounted prices — $9.99 for a dozen roses or $39.99 for 50 roses. The Kassmans carry more than 300 rose varieties, all flown in daily from Ingrid Kassman’s family of rose farmers in Ecuador. (the mother, Natalie Kassman, is a botanist and famous for being “The Plant Lady” of Great Neck, N.Y., and Ingrid grew up in an extended family of rose farmers. They met four years ago on an Internet dating site and immediately knew they were meant to be together, bound by their flower family backgrounds.)
The couple moved to Newport Beach last September following a vacation from their home in Miami.
“Within two days, we decided to move here,” Ingrid said. They returned home and immediately began taking steps to shut down the Miami flower business and move it to Orange County. Then they rented a truck and drove across country.
“We felt like we were the Beverly Hillbillies,” Ingrid said. “We loaded the truck with our two rescue dogs and all our stuff and moved to California.”
They currently have about 50 retail shop customers, but they hope to build the number closer to the 126 they have in Florida, they said. They hope to build a wedding business, and they will offer delivery service. Ingrid said she’s considering holding seminars about roses — his favorites are white vandellas because “they smell like Chanel No. 5.”