Coronado is set to lose its iconic Coronado Flower Lady, and no one is saying why.
Shanel Albert — otherwise known as the Coronado Flower Lady — learned last week that she would no longer be allowed to operate her business at the Rotary Plaza on Orange Avenue at Isabella, where it’s flourished since 1981. She posted a letter from the City on local social media group, Coronado Happenings.
The letter, signed by Molly Brennan, Interim Deputy City Manager, said that Albert’s commercial use permit was set to expire on August 31. The email read, “You must cease conducting commercial activity on public property and vacate the premises before the permit expires.”
Albert says she was shocked. She’s owned the business for the last 10 years. The decades-old establishment is celebrated on the island for its quiet, neighborhood appeal and is considered by many to be the quintessential embodiment of small town charm.
“I was blown away,” said Albert. “I was trying to think, what did I do? What happened? I’ve been following all the rules and regulations.”
Albert said that, up until the letter, everything was going well. She said that until the last year, there was no formal rental agreement. She simply went to the city and paid a few months at a time. This is the way it had always been done, she said.
About a year ago, under new leadership, the city formalized the rental agreement, which was set up with her bank for reoccurring payments. Albert says she’s current on all of her debts, aside from a city-issued, small business COVID loan that she is paying off in monthly installments.
“There was never an issue,” she said. “There was never anything unpaid.”
Albert said just last month she’d been in discussions with a city employee about extending her lease for another five years. She said the employee asked her if she would be open to having other businesses operate at the Rotary Plaza, and Albert said she had no problem with this.
“I feel like they want another business there,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me, and why would they ever want to use the iconic flower shop?”
The issue was reportedly decided at a closed session of Coronado City Council last month. The Coronado Times sent emails to Mayor John Duncan and all of the Coronado City Councilmembers, specifically asking if the Coronado Flower Lady had violated the terms of her lease.
No one from the city answered this question, and the only council member to respond was Amy Steward. She said she could not share anything beyond what she had previously emailed a community member, which had been subsequently posted to Coronado Happenings.
Steward said there were “extenuating circumstances” that she was not at liberty to discuss.
“Her lease is up, and the city has decided to leave the area as a park for the time being,” she wrote in the email. “If we decide to reopen the space to a business, she will be welcome to apply.”
Steward added, “It is sad that it has come to this.”
The Coronado Times asked Steward if Albert was current on her rental payments but did not get a response.
Kaylee Ricci, the city’s communication and engagement officer, shared that the Flower Lady’s permit is reaching it’s conclusion, and is set to expire on August 31.
“The city is returning the park to its full public use while considering potential for the future,” said Ricci. “No decisions have been made and the city is interested in the community’s ideas.”
She said future use could include greater public amenities, other community use, or limited commercial uses, as it is extremely rare for the city to grant private commercial use of public space.
Ricci said that there is no existing litigation involving the Coronado Flower Lady, and that the city will not comment on individual financial and contractual matters.
“The city equally values preserving the charm and character of the park and may consider this, along with other possibilities, as it looks to complement the vibrance of downtown,” she wrote. “This natural conclusion of the permit allows for careful consideration of the future of Rotary Park.”
This is devastating news for Albert, who has enjoyed under-the-market rent at Rotary Plaza, along with her predecessors — the original Coronado Flower Lady, Diana Gurney, who set up shop in 1981, and Debbie Otto-Smith who took over in 2000.
Albert started looking at other locations, but the prices are “astronomical,” she said. Albert shared that her current rent is $1,200 a month, and many of the other locations are more than $6,000.
“It’s my livelihood, and you know, I’ve done really well with it,” she said. “People love flowers, and they come here, and they say…’you are so lucky.’ And I am lucky, but it’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”
Albert says her love of flowers and nature brought her to the business more than a decade ago when she worked at another flower shop for free to gain experience. Then in 2015 she began working for Otto-Smith, the previous flower lady, who sold Albert the shop a year later.
“She saw my passion and sold it to me,” said Albert. “It’s really special. It’s been a huge blessing.”
But it hasn’t always been a bed of roses. In 2017, a drunk driver crashed onto Rotary Plaza, demolishing the flower cart. No one was hurt, and the accident enabled Albert to negotiate the build-out of a permanent flower stand with the city. She says this cost her about $30,000, but she was happy to have it.
She tried a couple other concepts around town, including a pumpkin patch and a Christmas tree farm that got wiped out in a winter storm. But it was always about the flower shop.
Albert says the flower stand has become the heartbeat of the community. It’s where the Navy wives come to buy flowers, it’s where countless arrangements are made to celebrate life’s happenings and honor passings. She says she’s able to help the community with her creations, including working with nonprofits and supporting first responders.
And it’s not just about the flowers. Albert says there are people that stop by just to talk to her employee, Mason. And oftentimes visitors treat the flower cart like a visitor center.
“It’s like the first stop for every tourist,” said Albert. “Before they go to the visitor center, they come to me. I send them to restaurants and I tell them where everything is.”
It makes the city’s decision sting a little more.
“I mean, I just can’t believe it, unless there was something crazy going down, like I was drug dealing or something, or selling alcohol. I can understand some criminal stuff,” said Albert. “But I’m like, dude, I’m selling flowers.”
Community members have expressed confusion and anger on social media over the city’s decision.
“I’ve lived here my entire life and have slowly watched my hometown go from almost exclusively small, locally-owned businesses to being dominated by chains and big corporations,” wrote Jonah Haas. “This seems to me like a concerted effort to continue down this road.”
Karen Zekan mourns the loss of a local legacy.
“Diana Gurney fought so hard to create the original flower stand, and Debbie Otto-Smith poured her heart and soul into keeping that business a thriving, economic success,” she wrote. “What a shallow, egocentric, shameful move by an ill-minded city.”
Other residents are confused by the city’s decision. Resident Dot Harms said that it didn’t seem fair, given what other local shops and vendors are able to do with their storefronts.
“We let hordes of clothes and racks, bins of cheap beach toys and sandwich boards clutter blocks of Orange Avenue but the iconic, beautiful flower cart has to go?” asked Harms. “Please tell me there is a justifiable reason behind what appears to be a very sad decision.”
For now, Albert is asking the community to join together to support the Coronado Flower Lady.
“I don’t need money. I don’t need help with debts. I don’t need any of that,” she said. “I just need everyone in the community to come together and let City Council know that this is what we want. It’s to have a flower shop that’s been here so long. It’s sweet and everyone loves it.”
The next Coronado City Council meeting is August 18 at 4 p.m. at City Hall.
