City Line is state's top florist. City Line Florist co-owner Bob Roehrich has been a fixture in Trumbull since 1974. Roehrich was recently named the state's Florist of the Year. (Photo by Donald Eng) Roehrich, 77, owner of City Line Florist on Nichols Avenue, is the 2005 Connecticut Florist of the Year. The award is the state's highest honor in the floral industry, according to the Connecticut Florists Association (CFA).
Bob Heffernan, a spokesman for the CFA, said Roehrich was the natural pick.
"There were some other names in consideration, but the committee had no trouble making their choice," he said. Roehrich, who has seen a lot of change in his more than 60 years in the business, said keeping up with changing technology and industry standards has been key. "We were one of the first florists to completely computerize our business, from point of sale to orders and deliveries," he said. "Now people can go online and order anything they want and have it delivered anywhere." The online business has taken off so well that Roehrich said the company gets orders from the other side of the planet. American servicemen serving in Iraq have even used the store's website, www.citylineflorist.com to send flowers to their wives or girlfriends in Trumbull, he said.
But most orders still come the old-fashioned way - from customers walking through the door like they have since 1918.
"My father came back from World War I in 1918 and started a business selling plants from a horse-drawn cart," Roehrich said. "He had no parents, no brothers or sisters. He just had the clothes he was wearing and the money he got from the Army."
After five years, Charles F. Roehrich moved the business into a Bridgeport location adjacent to Saint Michael's Cemetery.
"The name comes from the trolley line, which had a stop right in front of the store," he said. "The cars all had signs on them that said 'City Line' so that's what he called the business."
It was at the Bridgeport store that Bob started his 65-year career.
"I was in the Boy Scouts, and I wanted to be the bugler," he said. "I started working in the store for 10 cents an hour."
Thankfully, the pay scale has improved to the point where six of the company's employees have been at City Line for 25 years or more. Roehrich's two children, Carl and Susan, also continue to work at the store and several grandchildren are among the 40 holiday employees who come in for Valentine's Day and Christmas week.
Roehrich relocated the shop to the current location in 1974.
"The Bridgeport location was great when people used to go to cemeteries every week," he said. "But that stopped happening as much in the 1950s, and we moved to be closer to our customers."
City Line consists of several buildings, one of which dates back before the Revolutionary War. The main building is 1820s vintage. Before the company moved in, workers had to physically move the 1700s barn and move it to its current spot adjoining the rest of the main building.
"This was 1971, and we were gearing up for the bicentennial celebration," Roehrich said. "You wouldn't even have thought about tearing down a pre-1776 building."
On top of everything else, the flowers themselves have changed since Roehrich started in the family business. It used to be that florists bought their flowers from local greenhouses. Now, virtually all flowers come from South America.
"You just can't compete with a location that gets 12 or 13 hours of direct sunlight 12 months a year," Roehrich said.
Most days, Roehrich is still behind the counter, helping people make appropriate choices in floral arrangements. Here more than anywhere else, his natural people skills shine, according to Heffernan.
"I have known Bob for a long time, and I have seen how courteous he is to everyone," Heffernan said. "Watching him work with people, he helps them express their emotions and puts a little beauty in people's lives."
Roehrich agreed, though he does hand over some customer tasks to Carl or Susan.
"I don't do too many weddings anymore," he said. "Most brides would rather talk to someone a little younger than I am."
