Vancouver’s Rudy Luepke Senior Center was named after the florist and former Vancouver mayor.
After helping people mark weddings, births and deaths for 105 years, Luepke Florist is preparing for its own demise.
Owners Alan and Maria Adler said Thursday that their business will be closing its doors by the end of the year.
The Adlers, who bought the business in 2004 from the third generation of the founding family, said they made the decision last week.
Vancouver's Rudy Luepke Senior Center was named after the florist and former Vancouver mayor.
It’s tough for a small business to operate when the percent of profit “is in single digits,” Alan Adler said.
While the husband-and-wife team has owned the business for about 10 years, Maria Adler has worked at Luepke Florist for more than 40 years. She obviously found a niche.
“Flowers are beautiful to work with,” she said.
And “I love working with people,” Maria Adler continued. “It’s always exciting to participate in the big events in their lives. We deal with emotions every day.”
Over the years, fewer people have been buying flowers from florists. At just about any supermarket, shoppers walk past the floral section as they go to pick up a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread.
Home improvement centers siphon off a lot of Christmas business by selling poinsettias, Alan Adler said. Like other retailing specialties, online sales have eaten away at the brick-and-mortar floral businesses.
Other market forces are part of the Adlers’ decision. When they bought the florist business, they didn’t buy the building. The physical property has changed hands twice in the last couple of years, and the current property owner is raising the lease. The “historic Luepke Building” is now being advertised as a great retail location, in a downtown district where “general office, retail, eating and drinking establishments are allowed.”
The art deco landmark at 1300 Washington St. was built in 1936. The original florist shop opened at the same location in 1909 after Frank and Edla Luepke moved here from Texas.
The family name became known for more than flowers. Rudy Luepke, who took over the business in 1938, was active in civic affairs. He was named Clark County’s First Citizen in 1951. Rudy Luepke was elected to the city council in 1957 and served as Vancouver’s mayor from 1962 to 1966.
Dianne and Ron Frichtl became the third-generation owners of the family business. Maria Adler was managing the shop when she bought 50 percent of the business. Alan Adler took early retirement from Corwin Beverage and the couple eventually acquired 100 percent of the florist business.
And now, Alan Adler said, nobody is interested in buying it from them.
Both Alan and Maria Adler are 62 years old, which was a factor in their decision. They don’t have immediate plans beyond traveling and spending time with their grandchildren.
The exact timetable for their shutdown is still being determined.
“Dec. 25 is the safest bet,” Alan Adler said. “We must vacate by the end of the year.”
Emptying a 78-year-old building will be job in itself, Maria Adler said. “There are a lot of things in this building.”
