May 10, 2021

After almost 75 years, Young & Richards Flowers is going out of business with the owners’ retirement.

Cindy and Jerry Palleschi bought the downtown flower shop in 2009 when it was at 11th and Main, and moved it in 2011 to 222 S. Phillips Ave. They have sold the building, which includes their home on the second floor, and have bought a home on George Lake, northeast of Mankato, Minn.

“We’re really super excited because we’re kind of between all the grandkids,” Cindy Palleschi said.

They didn’t attempt to try to find a buyer for the business, she said.

“We actually didn’t just because we wanted to sell the building, and I thought it would be too hard to find somebody that was a flower shop person and wanted to live here. It just seemed easier to sell just the building and go from there. We’re pretty pumped.”

Young & Richards will stop selling flowers at the end of May. The sale of the gift shop merchandise, which is at 45 percent to 75 percent off, could go until June 10, when the sale of the building is expected to close.

A women’s clothing boutique will take over the space, but the Palleschis are leaving those details to the new owner to announce.

Jerry Palleschi, who built his own following with the fudge he made and sold in the store, said he plans to keep his roasted nut sales going. He added that to the shop last year and plans to keep making them for fundraising sales.

The couple will miss living and working in downtown Sioux Falls, Cindy Palleschi said.

“We’ve loved the transformation that has happened even just since we’ve (been here). These last 10 years has been phenomenal. We’ve loved that. We’ll miss everyone downtown. We lived and worked, everything here. We’ve made a lot of great friends and customers, and we’re going to miss all of them.”

But their retirement and new adventure is calling.

And their new home will be perfect for their Newfoundland, a breed of natural swimmers that have webbed paws.

“Cooper gets to be a lake dog now instead of a city dog,” she said.