After 66 years, Donzell’s Flower and Garden Center in Akron is closing.

“We are sad to announce that Donzell’s Garden Center is closing. A long-time presence on Waterloo Road, the company has decided to close its doors forever,” the Donzelli family said in a news release Monday.

The store is at 937 E. Waterloo Road.

“While the company has enjoyed healthy business during the spring and holiday seasons, the summer and fall seasons have become increasingly quiet and financially this location has fallen below acceptable levels,” the family said in the news release. “A contributing factor to the poor performance has been isolation from other specialty stores to increase needed store traffic. In addition, garden centers depend on new housing starts to fuel their growth and there has been minimal growth in this area.

“This trend has been most obvious to us since the recession of 2007; around 2010 when other retailers returned to their pre-recession store traffic and growth levels, this location did not. The property is currently for sale.

“We, the Donzelli family, love our industry and are grateful for 66 years of serving the surrounding communities. We will miss our many long-time customers; many have been patrons of our business for decades. We plan to help our full-time staff find new positions and some will be relocated to our Cleveland location, Gale's Westlake Garden Center, which the family also owns and operates.”

The store will begin liquidation sales sometime in June. The family directed customers to its Donzell’s Facebook page, when it will post details for store hours and liquidation policies on Friday. The family also said for more information, customers may email info@donzells.com.

The Akron store has 15 full-time employees plus part-timers, whose numbers fluctuate, said Julie DiFeo, Donzell’s vice president and one of the family owners. Staff were told of the closing last week, she said.

There is no specific closing date, DiFeo said.

“This is not a fire sale,” she said. The store will be closed “with as much dignity” as possible, she said.

Donzell’s will honor its financial obligations, including gift cards, DiFeo said.

Donzell’s traces its history to World War I veteran and Italian immigrant Joe Donzelli and his wife, Bessie, who moved to America and after years saved enough month to buy the land the center is now on off Waterloo Road as an investment property.

Their son, Sam, came home from serving in the Navy in the Korean War and, with neighbors asking for a “beautiful business,” opened Belle Rose Florist on the land in 1953. Sam ran it by day with his wife, Bonnie, while he worked at Goodyear Aerospace at night, the family said.

Belle Rose Florist originally sold fresh cut flowers and added live flowers and plants to meet customer demand, eventually evolving into Donzell’s Flower and Garden Center. As the business grew, in 1981 it added a large Christmas decoration department that garnered national attention and became a favorite holiday shopping destination, the family said.

Customers react

Although customers began learning of the closing Monday via social media and a story on Ohio.com, signs announcing the closing will be posted at the store starting Friday, she said.

As they walked around the store, longtime Donzell’s customers Gail and Danny Morris were stunned to learn that it will be closing. The Ravenna couple said they have been shopping there for at least 25 of their 51 years of marriage.

“That’s a mind blower,” Gail said. “I can’t imagine them closing.”

“We buy plants here. We buy everything,” Danny said.

Lori Meek came to Donzell’s with her husband, Tom Seesdorf, after learning the store was going to close. As they walked around outdoors, Meek found spicy ghost pepper and habanero pepper plants for her vegetable garden. The couple lives in Green.

“It’s sad because it’s been here a long time,” said Meek, who is retired from the University of Akron. “When I was working I used to come here on my lunch hour almost every day. It used to have a calming effect on me.”

Seesdorf said shopping at Donzell’s was part of his family history.

“My mom and my aunts used to come here,” he said. His aunt Marteen was an avid home gardener and landscaper, and Donzell’s was the only place she would shop, he said.

Rachel Smith figures she has been going to Donzell’s for more than a quarter-century.

Smith, a home gardener, said she drove to Donzell’s to shop for discounted clearance plants. Her cart included roses and peonies.

“I’ve been coming to Donzell’s since I was 5 years old,” the 32-year-old Suffield Township resident said. “I’m crushed. … It will be missed.”

Stefani Payne, who lives in the Portage Lakes area, said she can’t ever remember not shopping at Donzell’s.

“My mom is a master gardener” who always shopped at Donzell’s, the 50-year-old Payne said. “Nothing compares to here. They have a great selection.”

Donzell’s always has a great selection of gift items, including cards, for any occasion, Payne said.

“It’s so sad. It’s a piece of the area,” she said.

As for the four rescue cats who live in the store, Max, Miss Kitty, Betty and Katiana, their future is safe, DiFeo said. The cats will either be relocated to Donzell’s other store or will find a home with a staff member, she said.

Beacon Journal reporter Betty Lin-Fisher contributed to this report. Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ.