Cowan’s Flowers in Wayne closes after 101 years on Lancaster Ave.

“Sorry, we’re closed” read a sign on the door of Cowan’s Flowers on Lancaster Avenue on Tuesday afternoon.

Inside, the space was empty except for a few remaining bouquets kept cool in a fridge in the back.

The 101-year-old business, which opened in Wayne in 1922 and had been a stalwart of the Main Line’s commercial corridor, closed its doors for good on June 30.

“We’re getting old,” said Michael J. Cowan, one of the owners.

Michael and his brother, Charles M. Cowan II, have operated the business together since 1974.

“I’ve met people whose families have been customers of theirs for generations,” said Susan Huck, a member of the altar guild at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church located across the street from the flower shop.

“Everyone’s sad that they’re closing,” said Huck.

Cowan’s closure is the latest in a string of long-standing Lancaster Avenue small businesses that have shut their doors. In 2021, Angelo D’Amicantonio & Son, a shoe store, closed after nearly 90 years in business. On Tuesday, the shuttered shoe store’s former owner Lou D’Amicantonio stopped by Pat’s Barber Shop to wish the owner well as he closed up shop. The barber pole was coming down and Pat, 79, was getting ready to hand the shop keys back to the landlord, so that he can start his retirement.

Cowan’s closure has been felt deeply by the community.

“We often call the Cowan brothers the mayors of Wayne,” said Alana Milazzo, who, along with her husband co-owns Tredici Italian Market, a few doors down from the flower shop. Everyone knows the brothers, she said. They’ve been around for important life moments, providing flowers for everything from school dances to funerals.

For the past 50 years, Cowan’s Flowers has provided altar flowers at a discount for the church’s Sunday service, said St. Mary’s Huck, who received a letter announcing the Cowans’ closure. The brothers also donated a gift certificate for the annual church Christmas bazaar.

Avery McMahon, co-owner of the Velvet Shoestring, a Lancaster Avenue furniture consignment shop, says the Cowans sometimes would send over some leftover flowers, which McMahon would display in her store.

But the reach of Cowan’s Flowers was beyond Wayne. In 1986, the shop participated in the Philadelphia Flower Show, which resulted in more business for the shop, said Charles at the time.

Today, there is no interest in keeping the business going from the younger generations, said Michael.

“It’s hard to keep a business alive in Wayne because of the high rent,” said McMahon. Most of the items sold at the Velvet Shoestring are bought through the company’s Instagram, which launched shortly before the pandemic.

Some people aren’t opening small shops anymore because it’s hard to get credit, and rent and inventory are expensive, says David Abraham, the owner of Tiger Shop, a men’s apparel store on nearby N. Wayne Avenue. Stores that close have been replaced by restaurants, he said.

Losing Cowan’s is the “end of an era,” said Abraham.