A 'sweetheart' deal: Florist to sprout new location in downtown Cape this spring

For 28 years, Sweetheart Florist has graced uptown Jackson with bouquets and floral arrangements. Now, another branch is opening — this time in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Becky Gockel, who’s long owned the Jackson shop with her family, said she’s wanted to open a shop in Cape Girardeau for a long time, and when Penny Laurentius joined the team recently, and a space became available, the stars aligned.

It’ll be next door to Broussard’s, at 110 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau.

Laurentius said she’d like to have the Cape Girardeau shop open by Mother’s Day, which is May 12 this year.

“The view of the river, in back, is incredible,” Gockel said, adding it was important to her to have a presence in Cape Girardeau’s downtown, since she loves the area and wants to bring a florist shop in.

Sweetheart Florist of Jackson co-owner Becky Gockel speaks with Davine Lambert, in pink, and Sherri Noisworthy, both of Sikeston, Missouri, on Thursday at Sweetheart Florist of Jackson.Jacob Wiegand

Laurentius worked in the medical field for 25 years, she said, and she wanted to do something different.

“I came to work here, and I immediately clicked with the people here and what they’re doing,” Laurentius said, smiling over a spray of baby’s breath plucked from a 5-gallon bucket.

Gockel agreed.

“I’ve been here 28 years, and I’ve never wanted to not come to work,” she said. “Just when you think you can’t make another wreath or arrangement, something amazing happens.”

The creative aspect appeals strongly to Laurentius, Gockel and shop employee Toni Welker.

Sweetheart Florist of Jackson shop manager Toni Welker works on an arrangement Thursday at Sweetheart Florist of Jackson.Jacob Wiegand

“It’s hard to be in a bad mood here,” Welker said.

All three employees’ families are involved, sometimes minding the front counter or making deliveries.

That’s especially helpful around crunchtime — Valentine’s Day, prom season, Mother’s Day.

“With any small business, the hardest part is finding help,” Gockel said. So when she was thinking about opening another Sweetheart Florist in another city, she looked to the people already in place.

But her parents didn’t want to work full time again, Gockel said, and when Laurentius was interested in dedicating the time and energy needed to make another full-fledged shop happen, that’s how it came to be.

“I get up every morning excited to come to work,” Laurentius said.

Gockel said the Cape Girardeau shop will carry many of the same items as the Jackson shop: wreaths, sympathy items such as steppingstones or angels, and the like, but will also be geared toward walk-in traffic, with pre-made arrangements ready to purchase.

The plan is to work up to full-time deliveries in Cape Girardeau, as is already the practice in Jackson, Gockel said.

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