It's a Rosy Union for Sunset Foods and Angelo Florist

Loyal customers need not worry, Lake Forest's Angelo Florist is still blooming—only the "arrangement" has changed.

On Friday, Sunset Foods, which operates stores in Lake Forest, Highland Park, Libertyville, Long Grove and Northbrook, announced its acquisition of Angelo Florist.

The newly-named Sunset Floral Designs: Inspired by Nature, Designed by Angelo's, is located next-door to Sunset Foods' Lake Forest location on Waukegan Road, at the site of the former "Romancing the Home."

Here, and in the floral departments at all five Sunset Foods, customers can find the same upscale, quality arrangements by Angelo's they've enjoyed for more than 20 years.

Part of the Family

"We are now part of the Sunset family. It's working out to be a good transition for us," said former Angelo's owner Joanne Willing, who is now the head floral designer for Sunset Floral Designs.

Continuity is also important, said Willing, because Angelo Florist "has been in the community for a long time." In fact, Angelo's began as a family business selling flowers on the street in pushcarts during the Prohibition era.

At the new store's headquarters, which retains the same Angelo's phone number of (847) 295-0460, Willing said customers will see the same faces, designers and drivers, and of course the same quality whether the need is for a wedding, funeral, holiday or any occasion.

Sunset Floral Designs has been up and running for several weeks, though an open house has been scheduled for April 17 when customers will be invited to meet Willing and see examples of her team’s beautiful arrangements.  

Already, "we've heard very positive comments," said John Cortesi, President and CEO of Sunset Foods. "The name Angelo's is an institution. It's nice that we have the same designers."

Convenience

Sunset Foods is also pleased be able to offer shoppers the convenience of having an upscale floral department within the grocery store, to meet all of their needs.

A recent study by the Society of American Florists found that “convenience of ordering” is one of the top concerns consumers have when considering flowers as a gift option, according to a press release from Sunset Foods. In fact, nearly 52 percent of survey respondents cited “inconvenient shopping hours” as a barrier to buying flower arrangements.

Sunset Floral Designs hopes to capitalize on this concern by having an expert floral associate on duty at each store from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, beginning in April.

To learn more, visit www.sunsetfoods.com.