Lehi Business
Flowers on Main is a dream in the making
In 2003, Holly McMahon and her business partner, James Belcher, needed a way to provide financial support to their families. They decided to put their creativity and talents to work and created Flowers on Main. The Lehi floral shop has been a community pillar ever since, providing fresh flowers for all seasons and blossoming relationships across the city.
“I moved back home to Utah after living in Florida for five years and working at a local florist shop. I learned so much about creativity and running a small business. My business partner, my second cousin, was working at a floral shop in Salt Lake at the time. We met up at a family reunion and decided to go into business for ourselves,” said McMahon.
McMahon and Belcher picked Lehi to start their business because of the “small-town feel.”
“I grew up in a small town in Utah. When I first came to Lehi, it felt like home. It has a ‘small-town feel,’ which I like. People meet up or see each other on the street and talk and catch up; they say hello to one another,” said McMahon.
McMahon overcame many struggles as she worked to open Flowers on Main. Purchasing the home where the floral shop resides took a lot of time and was challenging.
“I wasn’t sure it was the right place because it didn’t seem to be working out,” said McMahon.
Other details needed to be resolved before opening. However, everything fell into place, and Flowers on Main opened its doors in October 2003.
“When we started this business, it was a struggle. It’s a good thing we were young because if we knew then what we know now, I don’t think we would have started a flower business. However, it was a dream, and we have worked hard to make it come true,” said McMahon.
“The first year we started, there were many days that we went into the back and cried, ‘What did we do?’” she added. “I remember sometimes at the end of the day, we would take flowers out to Saratoga Springs–there weren’t many houses out there at that time–and we would knock on doors and give flowers to people so they wouldn’t go to waste.”
There were times that McMahon was uncertain of the future of Flowers on Main. The difficulties felt heavy, but all those working at Flowers on Main persevered. McMahon is grateful for the patrons who believed in her dream.
“The first five years were pretty rough establishing a business, raising my children, and trying to stay afloat. We just kept pushing through with faith and literally worked 48 hours around the clock, but we’re still here through the grace of God and others,” said McMahon.
McMahon feels very fortunate to have grown the business and enjoys all the people who frequent the shop.
“We have some customers that come into our store, and they find their neighbors here, or their friends come in, and they take the time to talk and catch up,” she said.
“It would be great to open a little dessert bar. The customers could get their flowers, then sit and eat while they catch up. Too bad we don’t have enough space for food with flowers everywhere,” she added playfully.
McMahon feels gratitude for being able to make her dream come to life. She is a single mom, and the floral store allowed her to support her three children.
“All three of my children worked with me in high school, and working at the floral shop allowed them to go to college. My youngest has just half a year of college left, and he wants to be a florist because of his experience working at the shop,” said McMahon.
The house where Flowers on Main does business is McMahon’s favorite thing about the business. She has many fond memories of people stopping by to share stories about the house.
“One time, the grandson of the man who built this house came to visit and let us know that the last time he had been in this house was before he left to serve in WWII. His grandparents had died while he was away, and the family sold the home, so this was his first opportunity to visit,” she shared. “We let him tour the house, and he shared so many stories about it. He let us know that his grandfather had made the bricks that have made it a sturdy home. I thought this was sweet, and that’s one of the reasons we now have exposed some of the brick walls in the cooler.”
McMahon feels a great responsibility to keep the floral shop housed on Main Street.
“I feel responsible for preserving this special house. This house is what makes our floral shop unique. It connects us to the community,” said McMahon.
She strives to offer excellent customer service and create beautiful flowers for the customers. She feels blessed to be where she is today.
McMahon wants to express thanks to all her Lehi friends, old and new, who have loved and supported Flowers on Main over the last 20 years. They have kept this shop going.
“Even with all the growth and innovation happening in Lehi, we come to work every day and do our best to follow in the footsteps of those who pioneered with hard work to make this city what it is today,” said McMahon.
For McMahon, that is her dream in the making.
