As a retail industry veteran, Nico Flores always had a vision of opening his own shop but didn’t expect it to be in horticulture. Yet, here he is, with a blooming business offering a wide variety of indoor plants and gift items.

Nico’s on First Avenue opened the shop last summer in the old Carmine’s Restaurant building in downtown Kennewick, at 525 W. First Ave.

In one of those life pivots that became more commonplace during the pandemic, Flores found himself heading up the largest Lowe’s garden department in the U.S. in the south Seattle area.

The job became available while Flores was in limbo with JC Penney, where he’d worked for five years. Malls had shut down due to Covid-19 pandemic, and he jumped at the opportunity to manage the garden center.

“I learned a lot about plants after knowing very little,” said Flores, who did not own any plants at the time he took the job. “It opened the avenue to see what this kind of business was like, and I was able to bring my skills with merchandising for soft line retail.”

Planting a seed

Little did he know this was planting the seed for future entrepreneurship. Flores stayed with Lowe’s for three years, acquired 30 plants at home and eventually transferred to the Tri-Cities to manage the Lowe’s home decor department. The move allowed him to build up additional knowledge and got him back near family.

Armed with thousands of hours of on-the-job experience caring for plants and flowers, an understanding of home decor merchandising and a hefty savings, Flores bought the building on First Avenue and opened his plant store in June 2023.

Nico Flores opened Nico’s on First Avenue in downtown Kennewick, selling indoor plants and gift items.

| Photo by Robin Wojtanik

“In the beginning, I had downloaded apps on taking care of plants, and building my skillset to the point where I thought, ‘I can do this,’ and wanted to share that knowledge with others,” he said.

His breadth of knowledge is clear in the attractive displays throughout the store. Hundreds of indoor plants are set off with black accents, chandeliers and inviting gift items. Shoppers might come for the plants and leave with a crewneck, greeting card, keychain, jar of honey or wrapping paper.

“So that way, they’re coming here looking for a gift, and they want to do like a nice plant, with a cool box — we can make that,” he said.

The shop also includes a variety of Jojo’s Freeze Dried Goodies, whose proprietor happens to be a former employee of Carmine’s now finding her own success freeze drying everything from ice cream and candy to pickles and jalapenos. Flores said it was nostalgic for Jojo’s to come full circle with her former employer.

Open less than a year, the aesthetic beauty of the shop already inspired one candlelit engagement in the store with rose petals adorning the checkered floors, and another couple held their wedding there, moving aside the plants and gift tables to set up a sit-down dinner for 24.

An array of plants

Flores uses the building’s additional sunroom to his advantage, offering an array of plants – ranging in price from $5 to nearly $500. Prices tend to vary on how established a plant is, with the more mature ones costing more — they’re also more likely to thrive for those without a green thumb.

Don’t skimp on quality soil is Flores’ key tip for plant happiness and health. He sells premium bags and swears the soil will make all the difference, especially compared to the mass market varieties.

For those who are resigned to being a “plant killer,” Flores has a shirt for you, along with a suggestion to start with succulents or a cactus. He also advises plant novices to download a paid app that will not only remind them to water or fertilize their home nursery, it also will tell them whether the plants have the right amount of light for whatever they intend to grow.

Flores’s shop got a bit of a rocky start when he had to make some unexpected updates to the building to bring it up to code before opening, but he benefited from a May Day pop-up sale for employees at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. This let him unload some of his stock while waiting to officially open. Flores plans to return for a similar event at Kadlec, this time open to the public, this spring.

Flores and his parents are at the shop full-time caring for the plants and his sister’s family also comes to help on plant delivery days.

With a steady stream of customers through the door on a recent Saturday morning, monthly deliveries have increased to biweekly.

Flores said his social media presence is bringing many people in, and he expects demand to keep increasing into the spring and summer as people discover this unique plant and gift shop in downtown Kennewick.

Nico’s on First Avenue: 525 W. First Ave., Kennewick. @nicos.1st.avenue