By Tim Moran
Villager Editor
When the northeast corner of 111th and Washtenaw was first occupied by a florist, a large portion of the surrounding area was covered by cemeteries. Having a floral shop at that footprint made sense back then, and has ever since thanks to the on-going dedication of the Steuber family.
Bernard and Hedwig (Hedy) Steuber purchased the business, then called Werner’s Greenhouse, from the Werner family in September 1943. It has been in the Steuber family ever since, with ownership spanning three generations.
“My grandparents were hardworking people,” said Scot Steuber, who currently runs the business. “My grandfather loved the greenhouse, and my grandmother was the boss who ran the show. She had quite the personality.”
It was mostly greenhouse-grown plants that would be sold in the early days of Steuber Florist & Greenhouses. Ornamental vegetation, geraniums, and greenery type plants were a big part of the business, Scot has been told.
“It was mostly geared toward cemetery sales,” Scot said. “From what my father told me, the streetcar route ended around 111th and Halsted, and there really wasn’t anything out here other than cemeteries.”
Scot’s father, Bernard Steuber, was 10 years old when his parents bought the shop, and lived in the apartment directly above it for about 60 years. He and his wife, Carol, took on the leadership at Steuber when Scot’s grandparents retired sometime during the 1960s.
“When my folks were running the business, the flower market started to change and people were buying fresh flowers for home decorations,” Scot said. “Then the wedding business came into play, and they did that for years.”
Over the decades, Scot has noticed “monumental changes” in the quality of plants that are grown amid newer technology.
“We’ve evolved from a cemetery business into more of a working greenhouse” that grows all kinds of ornamentals and germinates its own seeds, he said.
With the original greenhouse structure that dates back to the 1940s still in place, Steuber offers a full-service flower shop with quality service and decades of expertise.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have a nice customer base,” Scot said. “It’s nice to see a little bit of a resurgence with our greenhouse.”
Steuber has become known for the plethora of colorful plants they offer during the spring, particularly their quality geraniums Scot says are known to last “from May until the first frost.”
Their colorfully decorated flower truck has been spotted throughout Beverly/Morgan Park and beyond, with flower delivery options available throughout the Chicagoland area.
But to the Steuber family – of which their many longtime employees are included – Beverly/Morgan Park will always be home.
“We love it here,” Scot said. “This is our home. We’ve spent our entire lives at this business. We’re at it 6, 7 days a week sometimes to make this something we can continue to be really proud of.”
