A woman who works at the ‘world’s only 24-hour, drive-through florist’ has lifted the lid on what really goes on behind the scenes – from bizarre bouquet requests, to post-breakup arrangements, to panicked orders of ‘apology’ flowers.
The Flower Station, located in the swanky Marylebone area of central London, started as petrol station at 55 Park Road before it was renovated into a drive-through flower shop in 2001.
Due to much of the space being outdoors, the curbside store faced a number of ‘logistical challenges’ at the time, including storage and security issues, which lead to the decision to keep it open throughout the night.
After years of success, the business, founded by CEO David Cohen, is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year – including on public holidays, such as Christmas and Easter.
At The Flower Station, customers can explore exclusive in-store arrangements, browse luxury, seasonal bouquets, curate bespoke, personalised bouquets, or arrange last-minute surprises.
Since extending its opening hours, the store has been overwhelmed with shoppers buying bouquets for any and every occasion – from proposals, to weddings, to funerals, and even breakups.
Sophie Ioannou, personal assistant to David Cohen, says the company likes to coin itself as ‘London’s only, and maybe the world’s only’ 24-hour, drive-through flower shop’ as it offers something different to other florists across the world.
But the employee, who has worked at The Flower Station for two years, revealed not every order is all roses, as she shared the oddities and bizarre customer requests staff often experience day-to-day.
The Flower Station, located in the swanky borough of Marylebone, central London , started as petrol station at 55 Park Road before it was renovated into a drive-through flower shop in 2001
After years of success, the drive-through business, founded by CEO David Cohen, is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year – including on public holidays, such as Christmas and Easter
Sophie Ioannou, personal assistant to David Cohen, says the company likes to coin itself as ‘London’s only, and maybe the world’s only’ 24-hour, drive-through flower shop’ as it offers something different to other florists across the world
Speaking to MyLondon, she explained: ‘We get orders from Deliveroo all through the night. It has been really popular. The hardest part was finding florists who wanted to work through the night, but there was availability for it.’
A number of strange requests have poured in throughout the years, with one customer specifically ordering a mammoth bouquet of 350 roses – which staff struggled to carry due to its weight.
She also revealed a groom, who had been en route to his own wedding, had once frantically stopped by the store in search of a bespoke Boutonniere to attach to his suit.
The company has also sold many ’emergency apology’ bouquets to customers grovelling their way through scandalous break-ups, not to mention tackling a myriad of last-minute requests from flustered partners on Valentine’s Day.
She added: ‘It is quite fun to see all the reasons why people order flowers at 2am. We have had rendezvous, romantic reasons, breakups, hospital visits, last minute birthdays…’
On most days, the store regularly sees late commuters passing through, but as the nights unfold, most visitors are made up of male customers looking to impress their date with a bouquet – or apologise to their other half after a rocky event.
Sophie explained: ‘We get crazy stories where people have broken up or some juicy gossip has happened, and they have flung by to the flower shop to try and get an apology bouquet.’
She revealed staff ‘try to accommodate’ the most outlandish of requests, such as customers who wish to buy entire stocks of flowers, but insists the company endeavours to make every order possible.
Sophie, who has worked at The Flower Station for two years, revealed not every order is all roses, as she shared the oddities and bizarre customer requests staff often experience day-to-day
A number of strange requests have poured in throughout the years, with one customer specifically ordering a mammoth bouquet of 350 roses – which staff struggled to carry due to its weight
The company has also sold many ’emergency apology’ bouquets to customers grovelling their way through scandalous break-ups, not to mention tackling a myriad of last-minute requests from flustered partners on Valentine’s Day
It comes after a travel concierge to the super rich has shared the weirdest requests she has ever received – including how a client once spent $10 million on a single trip.
Speaking to Daily Mail from her sprawling villa in Cannes, Deborah Duquesne reveals one of the most expensive trips she arranged for a client cost almost $10 million.
Detailing the vacation, which saw a group travel to 11 different countries via private jet and yacht charters, she said: ‘This no expense spared six-month trip included a spectacular 18-bedroom mansion in the south of France and one of the most coveted mountain chalets in Courchevel.
‘Giving them the ultimate VIP experience, I ensured that both properties were fully staffed with armed security, live-in staff, a private chef, a celebrity personal trainer, and lessons from a gold medalist tennis instructor.
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