You could call it a dream come true for an aptly named Milwaukee flower business.
Flowers for Dreams, a Milwaukee florist at 133 W. Pittsburgh Ave., was named to the review site Yelp’s Top 100 Local Businesses list. The online flower delivery business began in Chicago and opened its Milwaukee location in June 2018.
“It was a total shock, and we were so honored and so thrilled. I think the basic reaction was just, ‘Oh wow, that’s insane,'” said Lindsay Leinenkugel, the business’s director of marketing and design.
The shop was one of 100 businesses across the nation that were named to the Yelp list. Yelp rated 100 local businesses across 10 categories: automotive, beauty, books, magazines, music and video, fitness, fashion, food, home décor, home repair, kids and pet care.
To decide which made the cut, it used the volume and rating of reviews, plus other factors the site didn’t identify. Each category could only have one state included, too.
Co-founders Steven Dyme, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, and Joe Dickstein started Flowers for Dreams in Chicago in 2012, after the two had a side hustle of selling flowers outside high school graduations in the city’s suburbs, the Journal Sentinel reported in 2018.
The company opened a pop-up shop at the Milwaukee Public Market in February 2018 before it opened its brick-and-mortar store in June that year.
The brand grew in prominence through its social media presence and a unique flower emphasis. It had an Instagram account before an email address and aimed to subvert typical bouquet arrangements.
That meant a dozen roses was passe and cottage-bohemian aesthetic arrangements were in. Turns out they were right, as the company now has three locations, with its third in Detroit, and delivers to eight states.
Its Milwaukee location has been a big hit, too, Leinenkugel said.
About two years ago, the company moved from its original location to a space across the street, with walk-in customer traffic outpacing the original space’s size. The new location is about 2½ times bigger and hosts popular bouquet workshops.
Leinenkugel said the owner received a call from Yelp earlier this month announcing the honor and asked the Yelp representative what he needed to know about its Chicago location.
“He was like, ‘Actually, this is for your Milwaukee business,'” Leinenkugel said. “(The owner) thought it was maybe just top 100 of Wisconsin or Milwaukee … I think that was a little bit crazy to hear.”
The floral company also has a cause behind its business, with 25% of its annual net profits going to charities.
Yelp said local businesses like Flowers for Dreams have grown in popularity on the site, growing 124% from March 2023 to March 2024.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Flowers for Dreams one of Yelp’s Top 100 Local Businesses
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