It's Your Business | New owners bring flair to Danville Floral
Jana Wiersema, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
5 min read
Dec. 1—A local florist's shop that has been in business for 95 years and boasts of having provided arrangements to celebrities such as Bob Hope is under new ownership.
Robin Thomson and her husband, Jayson, recently purchased Danville Floral Co. at 437 N. Walnut St. and have renamed it Danville Floral and Gifts to highlight their expanded offerings, such as engraving services and other unique gifts.
Thomson, a Danville native, had known the previous owner, Terry Winkler, for a while, and he told her one day that the business was for sale.
"I didn't think nothing of it, and then I left and I called my husband, and I said, 'Hey, the flower shop's for sale.' And he said, 'Well, why don't we buy it?' And I said, 'Oh, you're funny," she said. "So he went ahead and put the paperwork in, called the bank and started it. And he was like, 'Hey, we've been pre-approved.' I'm like, 'What?'"
Thomson has been working in the floral and wedding industry for over 30 years. However, it was mainly a hobby, as she had three sons to raise and had to travel around due to her husband being in the military.
She shared in a social-media post that after her husband was medically discharged from the Army, the couple decided to move back to the area.
Jayson Thomson puts in several hours per week at Danville Floral and Gifts in addition to having a separate full-time job, Robin Thomson said.
While the shop had a soft opening in October after the couple took the reins, the grand opening is set for 4 p.m. Monday. The event will include light refreshments and photos with Santa.
Robin Thomson said that while she expected things to be slow after the soft opening, the shop has been very busy.
"It's always been my passion, but it was kind of a hobby instead of a career," she said. "And I think it was just meant to be."
7 Brew could be
coming to Fox and NeilIt looks like a 7 Brew drive-thru coffee shop may be planned for the southwest corner of Neil Street and Fox Drive, just east of Lodgic and north of Jiffy Lube.
The Champaign Plan Commission will consider a request from Brew Horizons for a preliminary plat on the property at its meeting at 4 p.m. Dec. 3 and vote on whether to forward the proposal to the city council with a favorable recommendation.
The LLC listed as its website in a business status report to the commission.
A new 7 Brew opened earlier this year at 1703 W. Springfield Ave. in Champaign. Locations in Danville and Urbana opened in October and December 2023, respectively.
Planning manager Jeff Marino wrote in a report to the commission that the site at Fox Drive and Neil Street has been undeveloped since a restaurant that previously occupied the space was demolished in 2013.
Staff advise that the commission forward the request to council with a positive recommendation and some conditions.
New coffee shop set
for downtown Urbana A Jacksonville-based coffee shop and roastery is working to open a new Urbana location.
Elm City Roastery told The News-Gazette that the goal is to open Dec. 7 in the shop at 208 W. Main St.
"Maybe ambitious, but that's what we're aiming for," the business said.
The location was formerly the home of Cafeteria & Company, which had its last day of business on Nov. 23.
High-tech greenhouse up and running
A new greenhouse made to support the work of the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation is now open, CABBI officials announced.
The Plant Biology Innovation Greenhouse, located on Fourth Street just south of St. Mary's Road at the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign, had a grand opening earlier this month.
CABBI, a U.S. Department of Energy-funded Bioenergy Research Center, said the facility will support its work to develop "an economically viable and ecologically sustainable domestic biofuel and bioproducts industry from dedicated bioenergy crops."
The university's research is also expected to benefit from the new facility.
"This state-of-the-art facility is a testament to our commitment at this university to advancing research and innovation that addresses grand challenges in our world, sustainable energy solutions being among those," said John Coleman, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at UI. "This greenhouse will provide researchers with the advanced tools and intellectual environment they need to continue to make valuable advances in their work."
The greenhouse project was a collaboration that included the Provost's Office, the Department of Plant Biology, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the School of Integrative Biology, the Department of Crop Sciences, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Susan Martinis, and Research Park Executive Director Laura Appenzeller.
The project was completed by Fox/Atkins Development and funded by the university, with a Department of Energy grant providing the funds for growth chambers and phenotyping equipment.
Local business included in state's holiday guide
Fire Doll Studio, a candle shop at 29 E. Main St. in Champaign, is one of 16 small businesses featured in the Illinois Office of Tourism's annual
.
"From delicious seasonal coffee blends, rustic dough bowl soy candles and locally grown Southern Illinois elderberry syrup to custom-made baseball bats and premium butcher blocks, this year's holiday gift guide is a true testament to the craftsmanship found in our great state," said Daniel Thomas, deputy director of the Department of Economic Opportunity's Office of Tourism.
