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Top Blogs

• City of Lodi furloughs have some residents scratching their heads

• Local officers pay tribute at massive funeral

• Regional Roundup

• Correction

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Lodi Flower Shop 92 years old but still fresh as a daisy

Margarite Reynolds probably had no idea that the business she started on March 6, 1917, would become a Lodi legacy.

Ninety-two years later, Lodi Flower Shop — one of the oldest businesses in town — is still family-run and continues to offer unique products and services as the family matriarch once did.

“She sold flowers, nursery plants, birds and fish,” Belle Reynolds said of Margarite Reynolds, who would travel to San Francisco, crossing the Bay by ferry, to purchase flowers to sell in her Lodi shop. The shop even provided Lodi Union High School with the flowers for its first prom and graduation, according to Belle Reynolds, who is the current owner.

Even though she updated the name of the store to Belle’s Lodi Flower Shop, Belle Reynolds tries to provide her customers not only with fresh flowers and arrangements, but also with home decor products that reflect the feel of the cozy shop.

When the store first opened, it was located on East Pine Street, eventually moving to Sacramento Street between Pine and Oak streets. Margarite Reynold’s son and daughter-in-law, Ted and Dorothy Reynolds, eventually took over the shop.

The young Reynolds couple purchased the property at 5 and 7 W. Elm Street — which is now home to Saigon Grill — and in 1958 added a bridal registry to their list of services. Bettie Mohrmann was hired on as the bridal consultant, and the Reynolds placed an advertisement in the News-Sentinel proudly announcing their new addition.

Belle Reynolds, who started her career in the early 1960s at Zitzer Floral and Greenhouse in Minnesota, came to Lodi when her parents retired here. She met and married Ted and Dorothy Reynold’s son Jim, who took the shop over in 1970, moving it around the corner to 16 N. School Street, the current home of The Clothes Closet.

The Lodi Flower Shop has been in the city for 92 years, opening its doors on March 6, 1917. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

During her years running the shop with her husband, Belle Reynolds had the opportunity to design personalized flower arrangements for two of California’s First Ladies, Nancy Reagan and Maria Shriver.

Rhonda Sasaki started working at Lodi Flower Shop at the age of 16 in the early ’70s, proving herself quite adept at floral arrangements. In 1985, she opened up Village Flower Shop in Lodi, but eventually returned to the birthplace of her career in 1999, after Jim Reynolds passed away.

After its location on School Street, Lodi Flower Shop was moved to Beckman Ranch Center on Kettleman Lane, before settling in the early ’90s at its current location of 1420 W. Kettleman Lane.

Over the years, Belle Reynolds has seen the industry change. At one time, flower shops were the place people came for their corsages and arrangements. With the advent of floral departments in grocery stores with lower prices, places like Lodi Flower Shop have had to get competitive, offering gift items like picture frames, lamps, candles and other specialty items.

“We still do fine with funeral work and with weddings,” Belle Reynolds said.

The fourth generation of Reynolds, Belle’s son Jon, has started working in the shop, taking care of marketing, management and publicity. She is unsure if he will take over the shop one day, but she is sure about one aspect of the future.

“We’ll just keep doing this,” Belle Reynolds said.

Contact Business Editor Marc Lutz at marcl@lodinews.com.