SAN ANTONIO — It all started under this tree at the corner of Cupples and Cheyenne, across the street from the San Fernando Cemetery number two. Diaz Florist has been a part of the west-side community for generations.
"Every weekend my grandfather and grandmother would come there with their children and sell from there, and it was just fresh flowers in a can,” Monica Lopez said. Over 7 decades later, Diaz Florist is still a family business. “And then of course, this was our original cash register back in the day when my grandparents used to sell under the tree on the street corner.”
Monica Lopez has run the shop since 2006. She took over for her sister, Belinda, who took over for her grandfather, Gonzalo. They sell decorations to help people honor their loved ones. The business has always been family run and it shows, from the photos on the wall to the height marks by the back door.
Six-year-old Avianna is the youngest – and shortest – family helper. "Sometimes I help with trying to carry stuff,” she said.
She's learning the same lessons Monica learned from her grandfather. "My grandfather was a very strong man. He taught us very young to be strong women,” she said. “But my grandma was the same as well, very strong woman. So if anyone taught us to work, it was definitely both of them."
That's what makes this day difficult. Because the last day of 2019 will be the last day that Diaz Florist opens. They're closing shop for good.
"There's a history behind the closing obviously, but at the same time we can't thank San Antonio enough for being so gracious and so good to us,” Lopez said. “It wasn't just a job for us here, it was a bond with people that no one could ever take away from us."
That bond can be seen above the counter where customers have hung countless photos of those who have passed on.
"Some of our customers have told us that they have been coming young and that now they've brought their children and even their children's children," Lopez said.
Decades of families stopping here to buy flowers for their loved ones, a tradition the Diaz family is proud of… and it all started under a tree.
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