Ezekiel Steffens and his partner Steve Rubenfaer have opened a new flower and event shop, Mission de Flores at 2590 Folsom Street, San Francisco.
I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.
As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.
As founder and an editor at ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.
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This store is great and Steve is a sweetheart. He has a wonderful shop and beautiful flowers available single or buy the arrangement and his prices are totally fair. I buy my wife flowers here all the time. Yes, the Mission (has changed) is changing and Yes there are a million things to complain about but Mission De Flores luckily isn’t one of them. We should all be happy to have them in our neighborhood!
I can’t believe all the negativity. This isn’t some big corporate business taking over a block of the Mission. It’s a beautifully curated, affordable, locally run flower shop in a small storefront on Folsom. Isn’t that the whole point of this website? To support and encourage small businesses?
If you haven’t been to the shop yet, I suggest you check it out for yourself. The flowers out front are inviting and the owner is one of the nicest guys you’ll meet. He will help you put together a beautiful bunch of flowers that won’t break the bank. And to those of you that do want something extravagant (which by the way is NOT a horrible thing every once in a while) then this is your place to put together something really special.
I’m happy they’ve opened up here in the Mission and will definitely be returning!
Price gouging on Valentine’s day can’t help … nor can grandiose references to Spanish settlers. For one they are responsible for decimating the New World with disease. I suggest some reading on conquistadors, who make WWII bad guys look like boy scouts. Or maybe these are narratives that appeal to people with large disposable income? They imagine themselves as successful conquerors, right?
Actually, there is a whole literature about early settlers in the bay area and their impact on the established residents. It heartbreaking to read how the enforced policies quickly turned them into a truly depressed and weakened peoples. That, some violence and disease and today they are practically nowhere to be found – even though California had one of the densest populations of american indians.
Its just a flower shop that price gouges and makes naive (or well placed?) references to an earlier generation of ruthless colonizers … welcome to the New Mission.
B2B, why can’t Mission de Flores make a reference to Spanish roots? The very word “Hispanic” gives a nod to the influence of Spain in the current day cultural life of people from Latin America? Are we supposed to not mention that even when, as in this case, a store in influenced by that?
It’s really not necessary to politicize everything, you know? Ezekiel comes across as a decent guy trying to get a local business going. Why not give him our support rather than getting all PC on his ass?
Its about facts and history and a sense of community. You always mistake correctness for political correctness, which is a shame.
See, the problem is that once you excuse or let slide something once then it sets a precedent and it becomes a reference that can then be applied to other things at will. There is a small number of cultures or communities that very vehemently defend any misstatements about them. Also think of the zero tolerance policy that supposedly turned off crime in NY.
Plus it was an ironic analogy to what is currently happening in the area and about which very many people have passionate feelings. Can you image in 100 years history saying that tech millionaires created the vibrant mission district?
Ezekiel does seem like a nice guy, and hey he’s getting a lot of free publicity. Plus he responded to people’s comments and is making changes — awesome.
I suspect that in 100 years time, when the history of this city is told, that tech successes will be a significant part of that story, in the same way as people speak about cars and Detroit, country music and Nashville, movies and LA, and so non
What we surely wish to avoid is the idea that we have to tiptoe on glass whenever we discuss Hispanic culture.
If you criticize tech workers at every turn but give Hispanics a pass at every turn, then you leave yourself wide open to the allegation of blatant prejudice.
Some perspective, perhaps?
And that was a reply to John …
Thank you for your supportive comment John. I would have preferred Mission Local to contact me for an interview, so I can understand why, without any information contained in the above article, people would make all sorts of assumptions about the store. Given my poorly-written, “About Us,” page, which did not adequately describe what we’re doing here, I can understand, and was grateful for an opportunity to improve. If anyone’s curious, the first picture is a birthday party I gave for a dear friend who let me stay on his couch when I was homeless. It was a totally free event I worked very hard to produce.
Didn’t you start the comment theme about a 300$ arrangement?
I did, but it was not a critical observation.
Did you look at that particular arrangement and determine whether it was fair value? Ezekiel described that price point as getting you something “outrageously spectacular”.
I wanted to say I apologize for that! I built the website once, and my partner had me scrap it, and I had build it again. I wanted a web presence early and I hadn’t even opened the store yet when I wrote that. Since then, I’ve been consumed by the photography, lighting, designs, creating card message fields, a cost table for delivery to all the various SF zipcodes, yelp, facebook, and the
“About Us,” page just fell through the cracks. I took your comments constructively and edited it, and would not have improved it without the input of everyone here. I just wanted to provide nice flowers to the mission, really. That’s it.
Good Luck with your new business! I’ll drop by soon. And don’t worry about these negative comments. Almost every new neighborhood business gets bullied by a small group of angry people. It’s therapy for them – be happy they’re not kicking their dogs instead.
I noticed around V-Day that a dozen roses at Trader Joe’s was $12.
This place charges $109 – NINE TIMES AS MUCH.
Yes, if you were looking at one of our arrangements, in a container yes. Part of that is because our vendors double their prices for roses on Valentine’s Day, but had you dropped by the store on that day, you would have found that without the container, a dozen wrapped roses, consisting of 60 cm, 70 cm, and 80 cm roses were $40, and a half-dozen were $20. I even had pink glass bud vases with three roses, greens and wax flower for $15. We provide actual long stem roses, which Trader Joe’s does not have, and they cost more. We’re definitely just a small business, but I feel sad you made instant judgments without calling or asking us what we had. But I’m the only one here, so I will take that blame and admit that I should have shown some examples of these online. I was very busy and worked 40 straight hours in a row.
Is it possible that one rose could be nine times as good as another rose?
How does your wife react when you give her a Trader Joe’s product on VD?
I still have roses on my counter from Valentine’s Day which are alive now, on what, the 4th of March? We processed them all on the 13th, on the day before, so they would be as fresh as possible. It takes a lot of effort to process a bundle of roses, clean the stem of thorns and leaves and hand-cut each one with a knife. The addition of wax flower instead of baby’s breath, glassware, and satin ribbon, and the time to design it adds to that cost. As I said, a bunch of long- stem wrapped roses cost $40 on the evening of Valentine’s Day, which is reasonable I think, and my customers thought so too.
Thanks for asking John, they reacted quite enthusiastically. And FYI for you guys out there: women don’t respect men who try to buy their affections (although they may want to marry you).
I’m glad your significant other enjoyed what you got her. I was hoping the locals would be more enthusiastic about the convenience of shopping locally, and flowers from my store are reasonably priced. Had you stopped in, I would have done everything to help you and find something that was high-quality and fit your price range.
Wait, nutrisystem, I ask you how your wife reacted to a cheap TJ flower for VD and you respond that THEY reacted quite enthusiastically?
Are you a Mormon? Do you have your wives compete with each other for your attention? If so, I can understand why a “two buck rose” does it for them all. Do they each get their own rose or do they share the one?
And are any of your wives over 16?
B2B, if your rant is against the “Hallmark effect” whereby businesses invent special days for this or that so they can gouge and guilt you into buying cards and whatnot, then I could agree with that.
That said, if you buy the cheapest flower you can for VD then it’s probably better not to bother at all, and find some other more meaningful gesture.
What’s up with the humor? Is that really you?
Alas, all I get from your comment on polygamy is a deep deep sense of envy …
Yes, 10$ per rose is ridiculous. And no, its no possible for a rose to be 9x better. Remember the first time California wines beat French wines in a blind taste test? Price is a marketed and packaged product. You might as well invest in a stellar potted plant and make a lasting impression (and show off your long term commitment and care). But then again there is a whole subpopulation around for which life has become a futile exercise in just throwing around funny money by whim of the moment. Which leaves the soul of the city to be carried by others wise enough to know that the truly great things have no price and are not for sale …
Wow. Not just catering to only the wealthy, their site says they see themselves as the “heirs” of the “spanish settlers” (colonizers who enslaved and wiped out the Ohlone people) who “first” came here and found only streams and flowers (and never noticed the people who already lived here). Christ. On what planet is it OK for these admittedly racist colonizers to be so **blatant** with their racist ignorance.
Hi Tessa, Ezekiel, partner of Mission De Flores. I was genuinely shocked when I read your comment, as my sister’s name is Tessa, and I thought she might be replying to a previous comment. I am deeply sorry if our homepage angered you, and have taken your criticism and used it constructively to improve our, “About Us,” page.
I was genuinely shocked by this comment, as my sister’s name is Tessa, I I thought she may have found this and posted a reply to the previous comment. I sincerely apologize if my website angered you. I have taken your comments into consideration, and changed our About Us page on our website. I’m sorry it was not very thorough, I wrote it before I even knew what life was like in the mission, and I was distracted by all the other work that went into the website.
As if nothing happened here until white eyes gazed upon the landscape, past those who lived and thrived here at the time. Contemporary San Francisco is hardly bustling modernlty. No, modern San Francisco is being overlaid with postmodern San Francisco in the form of overpriced flowers and events, experience shopping at its post modern.
Again, Ezekiel here. As I said to Tessa, I took your comments constructively to alter that page. When I created it, I read about the history of the district, and wanted to bring a sense of that to the, “About Us,” page. It was misguided, I didn’t think it would anger anyone, or create hostility towards myself or my store. If it angered you I’m sorry. I changed it.
Complex cross-cultural fusions cannot be dismissed with glib cliches and quasi-racialist generalizations.
It’s just a flower store. Lighten up. Not everything has to be about precious ideologies.
When Spanish settlers first gazed upon the lands that today compose the Mission District, they found many streams of bubbling water, and a variety of herbs and wild violets blanketing the sun-soaked land. Mission Dolores became the center of a rich agricultural community, whose residents were, no doubt, aware that their prosperity and futures were intimately tied to what they could yield from the soil. In just over two hundred years from that time, in the midst of the bustling modernity that defines the district today, our company seeks to pay tribute to that legacy. Our identity is bound to mankind’s continuing facination with flowers, and the simple beauty they bring to our daily lives, special events and occassions. It is in the name of those who experience and connect with this passion, the heirs to this enduring sentiment, that we faithfully dedicate our store and this site.
This is the excerpt from the website. Tessa is a dumb twat trying to inject racism where it is not. How she got to that assumption just shows what a stupid, pathetic ass clown she is. I feel sorry for how pathetic your life must be to always see hate where there is none. Leave sf if you live here. We don’t want your hate filled face here.
Yes, Tessa was racist there. Where’s landline? He’s always quick to call out racism. I’m sure he’ll be along soon to criticize her.
Tessa is free to interpret the company’s unfortunate mission statement however she wants without being called names. I doubt strongly that the owners of the company are racists. Their Disney version of Spanish colonialism is historically inaccurate and almost certainly irrelevant to their business’ success or failure. That location is a dead zone. Since Nora’s longstanding hair cutting business left that spot about six years ago, several other businesses have come and gone.
People are also free to say that 2 plus 2 is five, but they’d be wrong. Calling a business racist for no reason is damaging to that business and should be considered libel. Folks may read her comment without checking the website to see if she was accurate. Then they go tell others, “I heard that flower shop is racist”.
They talk about the wonderful nature that was once here, yet I watched someone from that shop throw their lit cigarette on the ground and walk back inside. So much for respecting their environment.
I’m a heavy smoker, and I haven’t thrown down a cigarette butt in over fifteen years. It’s not hard to knock the cherry off and throw the butt in a trash can folks.
That was me, the owner. Sometimes, I get busy but I sweep the sidewalks and gutter every morning before I open and every evening before I close. It’s been a lot more work than I anticipated, and many times I do absent-minded things. I will sincerely try to be more environmentally conscious.
Good to know it’s possible to spend more than $300 on a bunch of flowers in the Mission.
Sorry John, this is Ezekiel from Mission De Flores. I was told by my friend Issac at the liquor store across the street that Mission Local would interview us before they published this. I sent some photos over and was unprepared for the comments I read here. But you’d have to get something outrageously spectacular to spend $300 at our store. As you see, we’ve been rated as moderately priced by our customers.
I wonder if they accept EBT cards?
Again, from Ezekiel, partner at Mission De Flores. Funnily enough, less than two years ago, I was broke and using EBT. I know what it’s like, and I really try to give my customers affordable options, even when they don’t have a lot to spend.