Susana Cardel never thought she’d own a flower shop.
But after 10 years of being the sole owner of the Flower Carriage at 2255 S. Broadway, she said she looks back on her decision to purchase the store as a good one.
“It’s a big deal,” Cardel told the Sun. On Oct. 19, she will host a ribbon cutting with the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce to celebrate her decade of ownership.
“We’re very excited to be a part of this community,” she said.
Which is fortunate for those seeking select arrangements of flowers, or help planning a wedding, because Cardel almost didn’t even make it up to America at all.
Initially, after graduating high school, she went to work for a utility company owned by the Mexican government in Baja, where she was born.
A lot of family, especially on her mother’s side, already worked for the feds in some way, she said, except for her father, who was American. But one day, an elderly woman came in who was on a fixed income. She had a small house, with no fridge, but somehow a bill numbering in the millions of pesos.
“How am I supposed to pay this,” she stammered to Cardel through tears. “There was nothing I could do,” Cardel told the Sun. “But that’s when I really saw the corruption.”
She then decided to leave her government job with its guaranteed benefits, and moved in with an aunt in Brawley. There, Cardel attended Imperial Valley College before taking a retail job near Calexico. And when the owners of the store told her about a management position in Santa Barbara, she jumped at the opportunity.
“All of my family was in Mexico,” Cardel explained, “so they didn’t really approve.”
She told her mom she’d be back in a year.
Cardel bounced around the state from there, moving from the Bay Area and back before eventually ending up in Santa Maria, where she opened a wedding and special event planning company.
But the income was week-to-week at best, so in 2008, in a time when many across the country were scrambling to react to the financial crisis and ensuing recession, Cardel took the plunge and bought her flower shop.
“The economy was completely down,” she said, adding that most people during that period were trying to buy houses with low down payments instead. “But I thought, what if I buy a business and make money to buy the house that I want?”
The first few years were hard, according to Cardel, but eventually the company caught steam.
Cardel now owns a home in Orcutt and can’t help but reflect on how far she’s come.
“Ten years sounds like a lot of time, but it’s also been lots of fun,” she said.
Last year, the Flower Carriage had its 40th anniversary. The event reminded Cardel that her decade of stewardship is just continuing a tradition bigger than business.
“I’m proud to be owner of this place that’s been here for so long and to be able to provide a quality service for people here that need it,” she said. “It means something.”
Staff Writer Spencer Cole wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, mail, or email at spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 20-27, 2018.