{"id":348109,"date":"2026-06-05T15:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/348109\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:24:12","slug":"flower-shop-closes-in-fresnos-tower-district-after-80-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/348109\/","title":{"rendered":"Flower shop closes in Fresno\u2019s Tower District after 80 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uniquely is a Fresno Bee series<\/a> that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Fresno area so special.<\/p>\n

Michael Henry Tipton-Butler has never seen flowers as a thing of luxury.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more of a necessity,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

So, his flower shop was always more than a business.<\/p>\n

It was almost like a service to the public good, says Tipton-Butler, who operated Chase Flower Shop for 20 years before it closed down last week.<\/p>\n

The business had been struggling for several years. Recent trade tariffs and a lack of U.S.-grown flowers made for difficult finances. Tipton-Butler saw other shops selling $300 bouquets and knew his clients weren\u2019t the sort who could deal with those prices. So, \u201cit wasn\u2019t very profitable,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Last month, the shop announced a two-day going-out-of-business sale<\/a> to clear out the contents of the store, which including years of old window displays (something it was famous for), plus furniture and fixtures.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the spot was mostly empty, save for some odd shelving and a display rack that was visible through the front windows. A sign on the door said \u201cclosed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chase Chase Flower Shop on Van Ness in the Tower District has closed, photographed June 3, 2026. The business, located on Van Ness since 1971, held a business closure sale last month. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com Gil Chase\u2019s Flower Shop<\/p>\n

News of the closure<\/a> was met with remembrances from customers who had frequented the store over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most beautiful corner flower shop in the whole Fresno area,\u201d read one on-line comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the whimsy and magic of Fresno left us the day they closed,\u201d read another.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe end of an era.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201cera\u201d started long before Tipton-Butler, who was the fourth in a line of owners stretching back 80 years.<\/p>\n

Gilbert Chase opened the shop at 1446 N. Van Ness in 1947, and had already been 17 years in the business (with three years off to serve in the war). An Oct. 10 advertisement in The Fresno Bee announced the store\u2019s opening: \u201cTomorrow morning at eight … Gil Chase, well known Fresno floral designer, will open his new flower shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Readers were \u201ccordially invited\u201d to \u201csee the distinctive and unusual in floral and plant arrangements,\u201d and \u201cflowers for all occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The store also took orders by telephone: \u201cMerely phone 3-3562 and be assured that your order will receive courteous and prompt attention,\u201d according to the advertisement.<\/p>\n

Toward the end of the 1960s, Chase brought on a co-owner, Leland Fritz, and in 1971 the store relocated to what would become its signature storefront at the corner of Van Ness and Floradora avenues. The move doubled the floor space and added three times as much refrigeration, according to a Fresno Bee story at the time.<\/p>\n

\"Chase Chase Flower Shop on Van Ness in the Tower District has closed, photographed June 3, 2026. The business, located on Van Ness since 1971, held a business closure sale last month. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com What\u2019s next for Tower fixture?<\/p>\n

Under Tipton-Butler\u2019s ownership, the flower was known for its prices, service and creativity, especially in its elaborate window displays, which would change seasonally, at least.<\/p>\n

The shop, with its large floral-patterned murals, was a visible piece of the Tower District community.<\/p>\n

As was its owner.<\/p>\n

Among Tipton-Butler\u2019s cherished memories of the shop is passing out free carnations at neighborhood events like the Taste and Toast of the Tower and the Mardi Gras Parade. And while Tipton-Butler will no longer be at the store, he\u2019ll still be a part of the Tower community, he says. \u201cWe\u2019ll see you around at the parades and festivals and such.\u201d<\/p>\n

As to what happens with the storefront now, Tipton-Butler doesn\u2019t own the building, so he can\u2019t say if there are plans for future business to take over. But there has been interest, he says, including from a nearby print shop.<\/p>\n

\"Murals Murals seen at the rear corner of Chase Flower Shop, located on Van Ness Avenue in the Tower District. The business closed with a business closure sale last month. Photographed Wednesday, June 3, 2026 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com \"The The interior of Chase Flower Shop on Van Ness Avenue, seen Wednesday, June 3, 2026 in Fresno. The Tower District business closed last month after 71 years at this location. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com
\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Joshua Tehee covers breaking news for The Fresno Bee, writing on a wide range of topics from police, politics and weather, to arts and entertainment in the Central Valley.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Uniquely is a Fresno Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-348109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}