The business at The Brown Palace isn't doing well anymore.
The flower shop Bouquets, located in the downtown hotel’s annex building, has relocated. The owner, BJ Dyer, explained that the hotel demanded $10,000 per month for the 650-square-foot space.
Dyer stated, “I would need to sell expensive items like diamonds to make a profit in there. I can't sell enough flowers, even if I was open 24 hours, to afford $10,000 a month.”
Dyer moved the 39-year-old flower shop to the annex building at the corner of 17th and Tremont almost four years ago, after selling its former location in LoDo.
Although the business was good, Dyer mentioned issues with the Brown Palace space itself. They faced HVAC problems, dealing with high temperatures in the summer and heating failures in the winter. During the last freeze, hot water poured down from the ceiling when the heat returned two days later.
Dyer remarked, “Ironically, all this was happening while we were negotiating the lease.”
Despite the issues, Dyer mentioned that he would have stayed if the rent had stayed reasonable.
“They had a new general manager who is a very nice lady, but her instructions were to maximize profits and minimize expenses,” Dyer explained.
When Dyer moved amid the pandemic, the hotel had a different general manager. Dyer said they had an evolving agreement with the previous manager, where Bouquets provided flowers for the hotel and paid rent based on the amount provided.
In an email to BusinessDen, Jana Smith, The Brown Palace’s new general manager, stated that Bouquets did not have a contract. She alleged that Bouquets had not been paying rent and claimed they were technically squatters.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Dyer responded to BusinessDen. “The Brown Palace would let us be squatters for three and a half years? If we were squatters and she came in as a new manager, wouldn't she have removed us in the first month?”
The former Bouquets space, where the hotel itself used to run a flower shop, sits unused since Dyer moved out.
The Brown Palace was purchased in 2018 for $125 million by Texas-based Crescent Real Estate. Connecticut-based HEI Hotels & Resorts was hired to manage it.
Last month, Westword reported the hotel laid off its bellhops and doormen, and hired Chicago-based SP Plus, a corporate valet company. Those affected by the layoffs told Westword the decision was “a cost-saving measure.”
Dyer moved Bouquets to 1070 Bannock St. in the Golden Triangle.
Dyer signed a five-year lease for 2,500 square feet and is paying about $4,000, not including common area maintenance cost. He mentioned that he spent less than $10,000 on the light buildout of the space, which used to be a photography studio.
Bouquets made around $1.5 million in revenue last year, which Dyer said is still “substantially” down from pre-pandemic figures.
After almost 40 years, Dyer has experienced the different times. He has had as few as one location and as many as four. He has worked alone and also had up to 15 employees.
Currently located on Bannock Street, with a little extra space, he has five employees and can envision increasing that to seven, but no more.
Dyer said, “I will be content and can sustain myself for the rest of my floral career with that.”
Regarding the Brown Palace, Dyer mentioned there are no hard feelings. He also mentioned that he left the general manager a parting bouquet.
This story was reported by our partner BusinessDen.
