TO REACH US - Allegheny West Magazine

BUSINESS MILESTONES . . . . .Still Creating Magic After 25 YearsFor Rick and Bobbye Navickas, owners of FloralMagic in North Fayette, the art of creating magic withflowers all started when Rick worked for the formerChiodo’s Floral Shoppe in Chiodo Plaza onSteubenville Pike. He met Bobbye while working thereand, as they say, the rest is history.“The owner sold the business to someone else,”Rick recalls.Rick said that, back in the early 80s, the economywasn’t so good and he was finding it difficult to getanother job. Opening a shop was a logical choice.They started with a storefront, in the spot whereRita’s Italian Ice sits on the pike, opening in 1984.Business was good, and eventually they outgrew thespace. On their first wedding anniversary in 1987,they laugh when they remember that they moved theshop on that day across the street to an old redfarmhouse in front of Union Presbyterian Church.Rick said that they started with basic floral services,creating flower arrangements for local delivery andshipping orders around the country. Before long,however, they were doing special occasion floraldecorating, and then began office decor and holidaydecorating.Their son, Jake, helped with the business as it grewover the years. Rick said Jake was with them at theshop often from the time he was three months old.He’s in college now. Bobbye still has a picture hangingup of Jake when he was little in their old shop.They employ six others besides themselves to keepeverything running efficiently, handling the bookkeeping,and deliveries.Last year, they moved again, this time to the oldEvergood Donut building on Steubenville Pike inNorth Fayette Township.Rick said, “It made sense for us to move in thisdirection, because we had a growing client base fromthis area, plus, this building is on one floor with easyaccess for our customers.”He chuckled adding, “And we don’t have to go upand down steps to get to our refrigerators now!”Rick reflected on how the floral industry has changedover the years.“It’s tougher now because of the availability of thelarger stores offering plants and holiday flowers,” hepointed out.One thing that hasn’t changed in 25 years, both said,is their commitment to work with each and everycustomer.“Each customer’s need is personally attended to byeither myself or Bobbye. We take care of our customers,and we are grateful to all those customers who havebeen there for us over the years.”Floral Magic is located at 7227 Steubenville Pike.Call (412) 787-0380.Type in “AlleghenyWest Magazine” in the“search” box at the top ofthe Facebook page, andyou will find us.Become a fan so you canreceive updates ofinformation around thecommunity. We post eventsand news that we receive inbetween magazine issuesso you don’t miss anythinggoing on in your hometown.Share news about yourneighborhood or yourgroup, too! Become a fan!Start posting!Facebook is another waywe are connecting thecommunity with good,positive news about thepeople, places, and eventsthat make this region agreat place to live andwork.June 2010 Allegheny West Magazine 19