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BLACK-EYED SUSAN’S
FLORIST in BARNEGAT
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| BARNEGAT If you were born
in 1990, chances are the employees at BLACK-EYED SUSAN’S FLORIST
knew your parents before you were born. The well known, award winning,
full service florist has received hundreds of accolades since it opened
its doors in 1989. A visit to the shop on Route 9 one quarter mile north
of the A&P in Barnegat will take you back the nearly 2 decades. You’re
greeted with the florist’s “wall of honor”, as it’s owner Susan Lockner
refers to it. The wall is covered with thank you notes, pictures of
ecstatic customers, awards from FTD, Teleflora, 1800flowers and the
Society of American Florists along with certificates from local
organizations, schools and churches in the area such as Barnegat and
Waretown Police Department, Barnegat and Waretown Fire and Emergency
Departments, The American Legion, Barnegat schools, Southern Regional
HS, SOCH, and St. Mary’s Church. The Florist is a regular supporter of
many of the residential developments such as 4 seasons at Mirage and
Pheasant Run in Barnegat and Greenbriar/Oceanaire in Waretown. “We lend
our support to organizations from Toms River to Tuckerton and Long Beach
Island”, Susan says. Some honors the florist has received are accolades
and awards from those major companies in the floral industry, however,
most importantly, the loyal customers of Black-Eyed Susan’s has voted
the shop **Best Florist in Ocean County** through the Times Beacon
Newspapers. Living and working in Barnegat for 18 years, Susan and her
employees cross paths with many of their customers while shopping or
attending church in town. “Getting to know so many good people….that’s
the most rewarding! Almost everyday the florist’s front door opens and
someone comes in who we’ve known for years! The kids who were born when
we first opened those doors have attended classes in the shop on floral
design as scouts, ordered prom flowers, wedding flowers and today are
ordering new baby arrangements!”, says Locker, “It’s a strange sensation
to have known these kids since they were babies and now they’re starting
families of their own”. Susan and her sister, Carol Speller manages the shop. Their grandfather owned Lionetti Florist in Jersey City in the ‘30’s and 40’s and their mother owned and ran the shop until she began raising her family in Wayne, NJ. Susan and Carol are joined by their niece Karen, the 4th generation of their family in the business, who began working at the shop before attending high school. Lockner stated, “During our busy times we’re not able to ‘stop and smell the flowers’ but we do recognize how lucky we are to be able to work with nature and exercise the creative side of our brains everyday”. “Also, we receive compliment on our work every single day! What other occupation can claim that?” “That’s not to say we don’t work hard!”, says Susan. “We have award winning bridal consultants and sympathy arrangement designers on the premises with a combined experience of nearly 100 years! All of us at Black-Eyed Susan’s Florist strive to make your shopping experience the most pleasant part of your day. We have a quality assurance line that extends from the moment we take an order, to the designer who creates it for you, to myself and our manager who loads it on the truck to the delivery person who hands the arrangement/plant/fruit basket or gift to the recipient. After 18 years we know what works and what doesn’t. We’ve witnessed all the change to Southern Ocean County over these last two decades and we’ve grown right along with the area. It takes ‘staying power’ to be part of the fabric of a growing town for a generation. We count our blessings everyday”. BLACK-EYED SUSAN’S FLORIST is located at 290 Route 9 @ Seneca Blvd. Lakeside Square, Suit 11, Barnegat 08005, (on the Waretown border, ¼ mile north of the A&P). Local daily deliveries of flower arrangements, fruit & gourmet baskets, plants or gifts from Toms River to Tuckerton and Long Beach Island or world wide are welcomed via the phone: 609-698-3100 or through the convenience of our website on the internet: blackeyedsusansflorist.net |