The landscape of Walnut Street in Shadyside has changed dramatically in four decades. Yet one retailer has found a way to hang on while bouncing around a bit. Toadflax, the florist with the intriguing name, has weathered 40 years and become nearly a landmark on this famous shopping street.

Owners Tom Bedger and Jeff Pierce credit their business longevity to love.

“We love to work. We do!” said a smilingly convincing Mr. Bedger. “The employees and the customers are who have made us successful but we really just love to work and make people happy.”

“I look forward to Monday mornings,” admitted Mr. Pierce. “Our job is really a lifestyle. We both live close to work and walk our dogs to the shop every day. We live what we do and that has given us survival.”

Both agree that their success comes down to loyal clients.

“It is that support and loyalty that keeps a business moving,” said Mr. Pierce.  “Whether they come in once a month to buy a bar of soap or they hire us to do a big event for them or we work on their garden. Whatever it is, it is those clients that inspire us to be here.”

“I love coming in here for the visual entertainment,” said Betsy Neale, a frequent customer.

“It is such a colorful place,” said Stephanie Flannery of Fox Chapel. “It puts me in a good mood when I come in here and I can always find something.”

With so many movies being filmed in Pittsburgh, Toadflax’s customers sometimes include celebrities. Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Karl Lagerfeld, Laura Linney, Sharon Stone and Tyler Perry are some of the famous people who have stopped by.

“When they were filming ‘Fences’ and the ‘Mister Rogers’ movie, members of the crew came in and bought things for the sets,” said store manager Molly Chiang.

The loyalty of clients is matched by the loyalty of employees. Ms. Chiang has been at Toadflax (toadfax.com) for 20 years.

“I did move to D.C. but came back. I was 19 when I started,” she said.

The owners and staff have had plenty of unusual requests and memorable moments over the last 40 years. One customer asked for the Rolling Stones logo with the tongue made from red carnations. And then there was the time last year when a car crashed through the window on the Bellefonte Street side.

“There were three people here and we were at the desk when we heard the crash,” Mr. Bedger said. “The car pushed two huge cement tables to the back wall.”

“We try to get plants and flowers that others don’t carry and find unique things that you won’t find anywhere else,” said Ms. Chiang.

These florists don’t use refrigerators. “We keep it cool in the shop and we change out the water and everything is super fresh always,” she said.

Mr. Pierce explained their rationale.

“When you put a flower in a cooler, it is an ideal climate. But when a flower comes out it can collapse in a warm room so the flower doesn’t age naturally,” he said. “When we put flowers out we know how many days they will last.”

The shop’s original location was across the street, where the J.Jill store is now.  They had to move because that building was sold and torn down.

“We waited two and a half years in the second location until the corner of Walnut and Bellefonte became available,” Mr. Pierce said. “We’ve been in this store nearly 14 years.”

In addition to flowers, Toadflax carries lots of interesting things for the home. 

“We just got a wonderful line from Jenni Kayne of scents,” said Ms. Chiang.

They also have drinking straws made from real straw — very sustainable.

“Our clients keep us motivated and interested and they challenge us. That is what gives us longevity,” Mr. Pierce said.

The store carries one-of-a-kind items because some clients only want that kind of thing. But fewer are interested in antiques. 

“We used to carry more, but the kids don’t want any of that anymore,”  said Mr. Bedger.

So where did the name come from?

“The year Tom named the store there was a major study done in the U.S. because Esso was changing its name (to Exxon). They found people remembered names that had Xs in them,” Mr. Pierce explained.

Toadflax — a plant in the snapdragon family — was the choice. 

“It is a clever, catchy name that has been remembered by a lot of people,” Mr. Pierce said.

Patricia Sheridan: psheridan@post-gazette.com. 

First Published: September 30, 2019, 12:00 p.m.