Varvarigos Family Has Created An Enduring Floral Legacy In Wellington And Beyond
Story By Mike May | Photos by Frank Koester
A family that works together has a great chance of staying together and thriving together. Wellington’s Varvarigos family started Wellington Florist back in the early 1990s and still operates the business today, bringing smiles to the faces of generations of area residents.
For more than 30 years, people have turned to Wellington Florist whenever they need a bit of color and joy in their life, and sometimes for help getting through times of sorrow.
Back in 1991, the business was founded by Dean and Melinda Varvarigos. Even though Dean passed away in 2017 and Melinda is now mostly retired, the business remains in the Varvarigos family, now managed by their son, J.P. He has been running the business since 2010.
Wellington Florist — which encourages customers to “Stop In and Smell the Flowers” — is busy throughout the year assembling flower arrangements and bouquets for every conceivable special occasion, such as birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, graduations, weddings, retirements, gala celebrations, funerals, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and, yes, big events on Wellington’s equestrian scene, too.
“It’s not boring; it’s a creative business,” Melinda said. “Many of our customers let us do what we want, so you are able to go beyond and learn more by creating.”
The annual calendar presents a never-ending series of dates that require a flower arrangement of some kind. At Wellington Florist, every day is different, and the store offers every possible flower arrangement for every possible occasion.
“It’s a wild ride,” said J.P. with a smile. “Valentine’s Day is our most profitable day of the year, but Mother’s Day is our biggest day of the year, volume-wise. We have roughly 65 deliveries a day, and as many as 1,000 deliveries on Valentine’s Day.”
And, of course, on many occasions, customers will walk into Wellington Florist to buy flowers for a significant other just out of love and appreciation.
“In recent years, we’ve doubled our walk-in business,” J.P. said. “It helps that we now sell wine, chocolate, candles and Jellycats, which are like Beanie Babies.”
In many respects, J.P. was always meant to work in the flower industry. Selling flower arrangements is in his DNA. If you look at the Varvarigos family tree, one of his grandfathers was a florist in Queens, New York. His uncles and cousins in New York also worked in the flower business. And his parents met one another while working for Buning the Florist in Fort Lauderdale in the late 1970s. They got married in 1980 and operated Richard’s Florist in Fort Lauderdale for about 10 years. Then, they made the big move to Wellington to open and operate Wellington Florist. At the time, J.P. was 11 years old.
That was a transformational transition for all concerned.
Through the years, the Varvarigos family has helped Wellington Florist along as it has blossomed, changed and grown, both in terms of the size of the store and its bottom line. A good example of how Wellington Florist has grown in the last 30 years is that the business currently has more square footage set aside just for coolers than the entire size of the store back in the early 1990s.
It didn’t take long for Dean and Melinda Varvarigos to become established and entrenched within the fabric of the Wellington community. They both took great pride in owning a Wellington-based business. And son J.P. feels that same way.
Melinda’s creativity with arrangements earned her the highest accreditation that a florist can earn from the American Institute of Floral Designers, while Dean was one of the founders of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. They were both exemplary leaders in their own way. Today, J.P. is following in their footsteps. He takes an active role in the community he grew up in, sitting on the board of the Wellington Community Foundation.
Early on, however, J.P. never had any interest in the flower business. Instead, he was focused on the food business. “I wanted to be a chef,” he recalled.
After graduating from Wellington High School in 1998, J.P. attended culinary school in New York. He wanted to make his fortune in the restaurant business. However, the tragedy of 9/11 caused him to change plans. “After 9/11, it was tough making a living as a chef,” he explained.
So, J.P. returned to Palm Beach County to start a food catering business. It was a struggle, most of his business was on the weekends and it wasn’t steady. He also started dating Melissa, who eventually became his wife. She was a teacher at Wellington High School. She had professional stability, and he did not. To this day, Melissa Varvarigos is still at WHS, where she teaches biology and is the head of the science department.
“She was working days, and I was working nights and weekends, so we never saw each other,” J.P. recalled.
While he was trying to figure out his future, Dean and Melinda asked him to help answer the phones at Wellington Florist for just one day. It was Valentine’s Day in 2003. And he never left.
When compared to the food industry, J.P. likes the hours of a florist, which are more conventional and structured — but not on Valentine’s Day.
“I quickly realized that there were many similarities between the food business and the flower business,” he said. “Instead of lettuce, onions and tomatoes, I’ve became focused on roses, daisies and peonies. Instead of preparing an entrée, I started making flower arrangements. It’s the same business where the focus is on the customer.”
J.P. now loves the flower business, as he focuses on superior customer service, just as he did in the restaurant business. He also started a seven-day guarantee on all flower purchases. “It’s part of our ethos and part of our marketing efforts,” he explained.
If a customer isn’t happy with the arrangement, purchased within seven days, it’s completely replaced. No questions asked.
“This policy sets me apart from the competition,” J.P. said. “Customers don’t want to get burned. Customers are happy, and my employees are happy. Nobody goes home upset.”
Another philosophy that sets him apart is J.P.’s philanthropic mindset.
“We donate more than $90,000 worth of flowers every year to deserving causes in Palm Beach County,” he noted.
Wellington Florist donates flowers to support local Habitat for Humanity events, Wellington Community Foundation-backed initiatives, special events backed by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, and many others.
“For years, the greater Palm Beach County community has been good to us, and it’s our way of supporting the community,” J.P. said. “We deliver to all parts of Palm Beach County, from Belle Glade to Palm Beach and from Jupiter down to Boca Raton.”
Also key to their success are business relationships with growers.
“We buy directly from farms in Ecuador, Columbia, Israel, France, and as far away as New Zealand. All of our roses are grown in Ecuador,” J.P. said. “We don’t buy from a middleman or a distributor. We buy direct. Each week, four pallets of flowers are delivered to our store.”
As for Melinda’s current role in the business, she doesn’t have a daily presence in the store, but she does help from time to time.
“Mom comes in to help with Christmas decorations, and she travels with me on purchasing trips,” J.P. said.
Looking back over 35 years, Melinda is impressed by how much Wellington has changed with its tremendous growth.
“It’s good for business. Personally, sometimes I don’t love how busy it has gotten, but it is definitely good for business,” she said.
Melinda remains very proud of all the work the family has done establishing its place in the Wellington community.
“It’s a business that everyone knows in Wellington, and I’m thankful that my son decided to go into the business,” Melinda said.
As for J.P. and Melissa’s two daughters — 15-year-old Ella and 13-year-old Brynn — at least for now, they appear to have no interest in following the family petals, er, footsteps, into the flower business, but neither did J.P. when he was in high school. “I’m hoping that they change their minds,” said J.P., now 44.
Wellington Florist is located at 13889 Wellington Trace in Wellington. To learn more, call (561) 333-4441 or visit www.wellingtonflorist.com.


