Lake Street mainstay Soderberg's floral shop reopens, gearing up for Valentine's Day

Lake Street institution Soderberg's Floral & Gift is back open after a St. Paul florist acquired the business.

"We are trying to save the name and brand," new owner Heather Serr said Monday. "We are not moving. We are not changing anything."

Serr reopened the 3305 E. Lake St. shop Friday. She acquired A. Johnson & Sons Florists on Grand Avenue in St. Paul two years ago.

She declined to disclose the purchase price of the Soderberg's property, which she bought from Lighthouse Management Group.

Serr said she hopes to hire back most of the 30 employees who worked at the business and is planning to ramp up staff for Valentine's Day, even if it's with temporary employees. She's also busy ordering enough roses.

"We are trying to make sure we're prepared for Valentine's Day," she said.

Soderberg's abruptly closed Dec. 28, devastating customers and ending nearly 100 years on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Thirty workers were out of a job with the closure.

Harry Soderberg opened his flower shop down the street in 1925 and moved it to the present location in 1932. Harry and his wife, Mildred, ran the business until 1976, when they sold it to employees Lyle and Carol Blair. The Blairs ran it for 29 years.

At the time of last month's closing, officials with Lighthouse Management Group were newly handling affairs for Soderberg's and did not return calls for comment. The most recent owner, Howard O'Neill, ran businesses in St. Cloud for several years.

The Soderberg's stretch of Lake Street, like most of the important business thoroughfare, is still recovering from the 2020 riots following the murder of George Floyd by police.

The 2020 vandals burned down the Walgreens store one block away. Soderberg's survived, but business slowed as retail customers shied away from the area and the pandemic cancelled many events for 18 months.

Neighboring businesses noted that looters shattered windows of the shop.

Owners and employees from Precision Tune, Sonora Grill, Soderberg's and Walgreens said they banded together, hired extra security and worked with residents, all taking turns to guard their street.

Customers and community groups noted that Soderberg's buoyed Minneapolis' Longfellow neighborhood, helped nearby businesses survive the 2020 riots, and long supplied flowers to the Minnesota Twins, the University of Minnesota, Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Xcel Center and the Meet Minneapolis convention bureau.

Soderberg's is a mainstay on Lake Street, along with longtime businesses Ingebretsen's. Another longtime storefront, western-wear retailer Schatzlein Saddle Shop, closed in fall 2022.