{"id":36129,"date":"2023-02-17T10:31:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T15:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=36129"},"modified":"2023-02-17T10:31:03","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T15:31:03","slug":"hirsch-sells-130-year-old-family-business-binley-florist-to-his-long-time-employee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2023\/02\/hirsch-sells-130-year-old-family-business-binley-florist-to-his-long-time-employee\/","title":{"rendered":"Hirsch Sells 130-Year-Old Family Business \u2018Binley Florist\u2019 To His Long-Time Employee"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Binley Florist, a 130-year-old family owned business has been sold to Tami Field, a longtime employee and general manager of the business, and her husband Dave.
Courtesy Binley Florist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Paul Post<\/p>\n

Binley Florist has been there for its customers\u2019 best and worst of times, welcoming new life to the world, weddings, milestone anniversaries, and painful loss when flowers voice expressions of sympathy.<\/p>\n

But after decades on the job, owner Wally Hirsch has sold the iconic, 130-year-old business to long-time employee and general manager Tami Field and her husband, Dave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 75,\u201d Hirsch said. \u201cI\u2019ve probably been doing this for 60 years. It\u2019s time. Tami has really earned her place at the helm. She\u2019s been a good, faithful employee. I\u2019ve had a lot of good employees over the years. They\u2019ve been loyal to us through recessions, through pandemics. This is an old business. We\u2019ve seen it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>The $1.25 million sale had two parts. The Fields purchased the business, at the corner of Dix Avenue and Quaker Road, and will lease space from East Huron Street LLC, one of America\u2019s largest Taco Bell franchise owners, which bought the 7.1-acre property.<\/p>\n

Tami Field said she has no immediate plans to relocate.<\/p>\n

But East Huron, which owns Taco Bell restaurants on Upper Glen Street and near Northway Exit 18, has plans to build another store adjacent to Binley\u2019s about where its greenhouses are currently located. The company is expected to go before the Queensbury Town Planning Board on Feb. 21 seeking a two-lot subdivision.<\/p>\n

A 1.35-acre parcel would be for the new Taco Bell store, while 5.83 acres would continue as Binley\u2019s Florist & Garden Center, according to the plans.<\/p>\n

Field said Binley\u2019s will no longer grow its own plants, a costly and labor-intensive job, but will instead buy from wholesalers in Albany, Averill Park and Vermont. However, there won\u2019t be any change to the front end of the business or the quality, service and care customers are used to, she said.<\/p>\n

In fact, Field said she\u2019s already considering new ways to \u201creinvent\u201d the business by adding gifts, sold on consignment, made by talented local artisans and crafters. She also might do event planning for weddings and other special occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cBinley Florist has been in business since 1893,\u201d Field said. \u201cThat name needs to go on. It\u2019s a feel-good business. Even if you\u2019re having a bad day, if you get flowers it brightens up your day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hirsch\u2019s father, Alexander, began working for Binley\u2019s in 1933, hired to be their grower, four years after immigrating from Hungary. After serving in France with the U.S. Army during World War II, he came home and bought the business, which transitioned to his son, Wally, in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

The florist shop was previously located at 31 Grant Ave. in Glens Falls. In 1978, the Hirsches bought property at the corner of Dix Avenue and Quaker Road in Queensbury, and opened a garden center called Quaker Farms.<\/p>\n

In 2004, the florist shop moved there, too, so everything would be at one site, operating as Binley Florist & Garden Center ever since.<\/p>\n

The property is at a major intersection with a great deal of traffic, making the location ideal for doing business. A Speedway gas station and convenience store, Stewart\u2019s Shop, McDonald\u2019s and Dunkin\u2019 restaurants, and Livingston Furniture store are all nearby<\/p>\n

Several years ago, owners of the Fastrac gas station and convenience store chain had an option to buy the Binley property from Hirsch. \u201cThey wanted to close in the middle of our greenhouse growing season,\u201d he said. \u201cI told them we had too much invested.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Cumberland Farms acquired Fastrac. By the time that deal was finalized, Cumberland Farms didn\u2019t want the Binley\u2019s site because it already had several stores nearby.<\/p>\n

Hirsch said he\u2019s going to miss daily interaction with customers, which in some cases involves second- and third-generation family members.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCongressman Jerry Solomon and his wife were customers,\u201d Hirsch said. \u201cHe once told me, \u2018Anybody who\u2019s ever made something of themselves in Glens Falls worked at Binley\u2019s, including me.\u2019 That always made me feel good. People older and younger than me have said they worked for me or my dad. That\u2019s a good feeling to know we contributed to the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I always believed in. We took out of the community so I always wanted to give back. It was an enjoyable stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The business has thrived despite increased competition not only from other garden centers, but big-box stores that sell plants and flowers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing we have that they don\u2019t have is knowledge and customer service,\u201d Hirsch said. \u201cI always tell my people, \u2018What does it take to make the customer happy? Let\u2019s do that while keeping in mind we have to make a profit. Always give them an honest answer and treat them the way you\u2019d like to be treated, the old Golden Rule.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fields took over on Feb. 7, right before Valentine\u2019s Day, one of the floral shop\u2019s busiest dates on the calendar along with Mother\u2019s Day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As general manager,\u00a0 <\/span>Tami Field is familiar with all aspects of the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know. You could see me from the end of a water hose to a delivery van,\u201d she said. \u201cI did it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Field is glad to know that Hirsch has no plans of moving away, now that he\u2019s retired. \u201cWhen I need help and some advice, he\u2019s a phone call or text away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Post Binley Florist has been there for its customers\u2019 best and worst of times, welcoming new life to the world, weddings, milestone anniversaries, and painful loss when flowers voice expressions of sympathy. But after decades on the job, owner Wally Hirsch has sold the iconic, 130-year-old business to long-time employee and general manager […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":36130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nHirsch Sells 130-Year-Old Family Business \u2018Binley Florist\u2019 To His Long-Time Employee - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2023\/02\/hirsch-sells-130-year-old-family-business-binley-florist-to-his-long-time-employee\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hirsch Sells 130-Year-Old Family Business \u2018Binley Florist\u2019 To His Long-Time Employee - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paul Post Binley Florist has been there for its customers\u2019 best and worst of times, welcoming new life to the world, weddings, milestone anniversaries, and painful loss when flowers voice expressions of sympathy. 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