Coe’s Floral & Gifts is in the business of taking dreams to reality. This weekend, the shop celebrates 80 years, and Dan Brabec celebrates 10 years as owner. 

Coe’s began as a seed shop downtown. After several generations of family ownership, Brabec purchased the business while a student at Iowa State.  

Ten years ago, Coe’s was mainly known for fresh flowers. Today they offer much more, including special events, classes and workshops and a wide array of home decor and gift items. 

“My number one thing is just trying to build relationships with our customers — it’s not just selling flowers,” Brabec said.

In his years at the shop, Brabec has seen clients go from ordering wedding flowers to baby gifts to celebrating family events together. And the shop is always willing to go the extra mile to create special moments. 

When a client wanted a dream wedding with $60,000 worth of fresh flowers, Coe’s mobilized a team of 27 employees to make it happen. When a student wanted to surprise his girlfriend with a 1,000 rose bouquet, a group of employees spent the entire day arranging the stems and loaded the whole bouquet into a U-Haul van. 

While flowers are a luxury and online flower shops are challenging local businesses, Brabec said he is looking forward to continuing the neighborhood florist tradition for years to come. 

“I’m so proud to carry on the tradition of the Coe’s family.”