Mahopac Flower Shop, Mahopac
From a young age, Michael Bothe has always had a passion for floral design and the flower business.
He’s the owner of Mahopac Flower Shop along Route 6 and after almost three decades his shop has become a household name in the community. Whether you need flowers for Valentines Day or prom night, Bothe’s flower shop, which he owns will his partner Bill Fitzgerald, has become a staple in Mahopac.
Bothe opened more than 28 years ago with his store outliving several other flower shops that were in the area around the same time. His motto that the customer is always right proved to be simple yet effective words to live by. Because the business is family oriented, patrons of the store can expect to be more than just another customer.
“We’ve always taken good care of everybody and just the customer is always right,” Bothe said. “That’s the bottom line.”
The shop offers arrangements for everything, including weddings, funerals, holidays and different occasions. Bothe has been doing that work in Mahopac since the George H.W. Bush presidential days.
And Bothe has always been in the flower business. His family, which was situated in the Michigan when he was growing up, owned a florist shop. He learned about what it took to run a good florist business from both his mother and uncle.
Bothe also took classes at a trade school to hone his craft. He worked in White Plains for many years before coming up to Mahopac. He now lives in Carmel and has been involved in the community, donating to different causes in town.
“It’s just something you can do,” he said. “And enjoy it.”
The biggest challenge for the flower shop is hiring people that are competent in floral design and have the passion to work through the daily grind. Bothe said floral design requires a lot of work. It’s more than just playing with flowers, he noted.
Bothe has always been confident throughout his tenure in Mahopac that his store sells a good product, which is why patrons keep coming back. A female customer who was pregnant when he first opened recently came back because she needed him to handle a flower arrangement for her daughter, who was the baby in the womb when he first opened.
His business will turn 29-years-old in May.
“We’ve always stuck to our gun and if anything’s ever wrong, we fix it,” Bothe said.
