Irene's Flower Shop to Serve P.J.'s Garden Center Customers

After much speculation and debate about what to do with P.J.'s Garden Center, the name will stick around, while the Madison Avenue building is still for sale.  

According to a recent Facebook notice, "'PJs Garden Exchange of Trumbull, CT' is changing its name to 'Irene's Flower Shop' on Oct. 21."

Bruce Minoff of Trumbull owns Hansen's Flower Shop and Greenhouse in Fairfield; Hansen's Floral Arts in Westport; Irene's Flower Shop, on Main Street, Monroe; and Bruce's Flowers and Greenhouses in Norwalk.

Minoff said he's keeping the P.J.'s Website up and converting the Facebook page to Irene's. "I folded that into Monroe because of the close location," he said.

Customers can still go to the P.J.'s Website or Irene's. The closest physical stores are in Monroe and Fairfield.

Minoff, 66, said the flower business has changed since he started working in the industry 50 years ago at age 16.

"The floral business today is really your phone number and the Internet [address]. You don't get many walk-ins," he said, adding that his offers years of experience to his customers.

The number of brick-and-mortar flower stores has fallen over the last decade, according to Minoff.

Where there were 1,200 in Connecticut, 450 remain. Several Trumbull stores have closed in the same time span.

The owners of P.J.'s Garden Center closed the decades-old business because they wanted to retire. The center was open in different forms since the 1930s and was known for its Christmas decorations and gifts.

No plans have been filed for reusing the building yet, but one idea is to turn it into a retail shopping center.