An electrical fire overnight nearly destroyed a flower shop in downtown Forsyth that has been serving the community for more than two decades.
An electrical fire broke out in the back of Flowers by Helen on Tuesday morning. All of the flowers and equipment inside was destroyed because of fire and water damage.
“The damage is pretty severe this time, so it'll probably take 4-6 months to rebuild," said Mike Ellis, who owns the business. His wife Angie runs the shop, but it's meant a lot to them to give back to the community.
“We've delivered balloons and flowers to mamas that had babies that now we're delivering wedding flowers to those babies, so it's certainly something we enjoy seeing,” said Ellis.
“I’m sure that the community will come together in some sort of way to help with this,” said Ellis.
Erica Martin works at the Pickled Okra down the street, but she remembers the last time she was at Flowers by Helen with her mom. “Right there was an arrangement of magnolias, and we looked at each other and went, 'Perfect! That's it,'” said Martin.
Martin says the flowers made her mother feel special on her wedding day and she's sad she won't be able to go back for a while.
“Kroger or Publix, you know, they always have those beautiful flower arrangements. You would never have thought of a small local flower shop like that that is still in business,” said Martin
“It was always filled with flowers. It's like the brightest spot on the square, and every time you ever drive or walk by it, was always bright colors out of the window,” said Erica Martin, who has lived in Forsyth all of her life.
Mike and Angie Ellis say they say they have plans to move to a temporary location because not even a fire can stop them from filling order for Mother's Day and prom.