MONROE — Main Street Monroe is sure to welcome a splash of new color Oct. 27 when Busy Bee Floral & Gifts opens its doors.

Owners Debbie and Joe Hillary are opening the store as part of Main Street Monroe’s Project Pop Up. Business owners who are selected after an application process are then able to open their shop idea with three months of paid rent, free business counseling, free advertising and assistance negotiating a lease. The goal of the project, Main Street Monroe director Jordan Nordby said, is to bring new businesses to the community that may otherwise not have the opportunity to start up.

“It’s just great that they care about our downtown and we care about our downtown,” Debbie Hillary said. “We love the downtown and it’s where we always want to be… We eat here, we shop here, it’s a jewel of the town.”

Debbie Hillary of Monroe has worked as a florist for the last decade, but it had long been her dream to someday open her own floral shop. Trained in traditional floral design, Hillary has experience managing two floral shops. In 2012, she started her own business doing floral weddings and events out of her home. 

Because of the difficulty of opening a new store and expanding a business while raising three kids, Hillary is grateful that the pop-up project simplified the process so much.

“When you’re raising kids and everyone’s got their own interests and hobbies and school, it’s really nice to have the pop-up shop,” she said. “[Main Street Monroe has] been a really awesome program that’s working with us. It really makes it manageable to get started. It’s a really generous organization.”

When she heard about Project Pop Up, Hillary applied and was accepted, but wanted to make sure to wait until she found a building that she would want to keep the shop in long-term, as floral shops can be an expensive endeavor, requiring extra plumbing and a freezer space to keep the flowers. 

While staying in touch with Nordby, Hillary kept an eye out for real estate until one night when she walked past the north side of the Square and saw inside the open windows at 1605 10th Street.

“It was this crazy, strong, kind of an absolute feeling of ‘this is going to be my flower shop’,” Hillary said.

When the building was purchased earlier this year, the couple immediately reached out to the new owner and expressed interest in their opening a flower shop. The owner, Myron Ellingson, was quickly onboard.

The historic building on the north side of the Square has been various shops since 1902. Hillary wanted to be sure to appreciate the historic presence of the building in her shop’s design. When she heard that Martha Etter Luedeking, whose family had previously owned the Etter’s department store in the building from 1902-1990 still had a building-original counter. Hillary inquired and the two returned the counter to its original home.

Main Street Monroe has offered Project Pop Up for three years.

Busy Bee Floral & Gifts is the fourth store to open as part of the project. 

Of the previous three shops to participate, all three signed long-term leases. 213 Mercantile and Enchanted Sisters, two of the previous pop up shops to participate in the project, are still in business. Rock and Rust, another previous shop to participate, closed in May due to COVID-19-related struggles.

Of the previous three shops to participate, all three signed long-term leases.