McKenzie City Florist & More

McKENZIE — On one corner of downtown Veterans Park stands a monument to a local fallen soldier and the men who served alongside him.

Just a few feet down the street at 17 Broadway stands a different sort of monument.

McKenzie City Florist & More represents a legacy of service started by one of those men and his family, a legacy still being realized by that family and now, another one of those men.

When the late Master Sergeant David Jarrett retired from the National Guard after 30 years of service in 2018, he knew he wanted to continue to serve his community. His widow, Michele, told The Banner, “We lived here [almost] all of our lives, and he wanted to do something that would serve McKenzie and give back to the community. Through all the deployments, the community has been so good to us, and he felt like it was something he could do in retirement.”

He completed a program called Boots to Business to learn how to operate a small business, and he and Michele settled on purchasing the existing City Florist in McKenzie. “He knew I liked to be creative, and I love doing that stuff. He bought me a florist instead of buying me a dozen roses.”

They almost immediately began a move from Waldren Street to a new, larger location on Cedar, because David had bigger aspirations for the business. “He wanted to expand it. He liked the idea of having several things under one roof. He wanted to move over there and add the coffee bar.”

Besides the coffee bar, the shop would expand the gift shop, offer tuxedo rentals and wedding-related services, and offer lunches and pastries with help from local partners.

Truly a family business, the Jarretts’ three children, Morgan, Zach and Evan, as well as many extended family members, have been heavily involved.

Besides unwavering family support, Kim Chapman has been the shop’s full-time florist not just since the Jarretts took over, but for many years prior in the previous iteration of City Florist.

That deep roster of support would become vital in the difficult times ahead.

In April 2020, David was diagnosed with brain cancer, a battle that would end in April 2021.

The loss left Michele and the family with a difficult decision. “I had to step away for a little bit. And I had good employees who took care of everything and kept it running. Without them, we would have just closed down.”

Ultimately, she decided to carry on. “I really kind of felt like I owed it to him. I felt like this is something he started, and it was his legacy. So I really felt like it was something I needed to keep going for him. It would have been easy just to say, ‘let’s get rid of it’.”

So McKenzie City Florist & More endured, although there have been more changes. About a year ago, the shop made another move to the current location on Broadway. They had streamlined their offerings and were more suited to a smaller space. “And I love this building. It’s gorgeous. Who wouldn’t want to be in this building? It’s beautiful, with the exposed brick. And eventually it would be nice to do something with the upstairs.”

Besides the full-service florist, gift shop and coffee bar, the business recently added another service as a shipping and drop-off point for UPS.

And in a month’s time, it will once again be a veteran-owned business when Michele marries Steve Love. Lt. Col. Love was deployed with David in 2005 and they developed a close friendship. “He was my best friend,” Love told The Banner. “I knew Michele and the family, and for that whole time we kept in touch with each other, especially through [David’s] sickness.”

Love and Michele reconnected last year, and he came to see the florist as it moved to Broadway. The pair began dating soon after.

Love was always a confidant for David on the business and even helped with construction in the move to Cedar.

”And then when he passed, it was hard for everybody, and I wanted to help somehow. But there was not much I could do because I was living in Murfreesboro at the time. But as she got this place fixed up and then we started dating, I just wanted to dig in and kind of fight for Dave, and for Michele, because she was struggling with doing things that she didn’t have to do before that Dave did. And I’m not a business man, but I know some of the ideas he had and the direction he wanted to go. I’m trying to reinstill that as best I can.”

McKenzie City Florist & More is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.