Tarrah Richardson is the owner of Newport Florist and Gifts, which recently moved to a new location. It is now at 1738 N Coast Highway, which for years was known as Barbara’s Blossom Shop. (Photos by Steve Card) Pictured in Newport Florist’s new shop are Tarrah Richardson, left, Hannah Richardson, Katrina Thomas and Jenny Wertz. Newport Florist and Gifts reopened in mid-September at its new location. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. They are closed on Sunday. Newport Florist moves to new location

NEWPORT — Newport Florist and Gifts is in a new home, opening in mid-September after making the move to 1738 N Coast Highway. It’s actually a location that has a flowery history, having housed Barbara’s Blossom Shop for many years before the building changed uses.

Shop owner Tarrah Richardson said the move to the former florist shop “is really fun because a lot of people are excited about that aspect of it, which I think is neat.”

Richardson said she had eyed that location several years ago.

“I’ve always been interested in this location. Before my husband and I moved to the area, we kind of came on a tour of the Oregon coast. And when we came to Newport, this spot was available — that was like 2013. I looked at this space but the rent was pretty high.”

Instead of opening her own florist shop at that time, she and Ryan decided to open CrossFit Newport at 710 NE Third St., and Tarrah went to work for the former owner of Newport Florist and Gifts, Carla Williams.

“I’ve been a florist for 26 years. Carla Williams hired me, and by December 2014, I knew she wanted to sell. We bought it in March 2015,” she said.

Tarrah and Ryan own and operate both businesses, and for the last five years, she has been running the florist shop at its previous location at Newport’s Bay Bridge Mall. Although she liked that space, it was somewhat hidden from view, so she began checking out other spots. She and Ryan looked at more than a half dozen locations and ultimately had the opportunity to move to the spot they had looked at years before. They spent almost two weeks doing interior work, painting every single surface, pouring self-leveling concrete on the floors, and installing a new front door and garage door. “We’re going to put new fencing in back. It’s still in process,” she said.

“This building is great. And one of the things I really love about this space is I love to do classes, and it just has a lot more room. And it has the space for the walk-in cooler.”

Richardson said, “The whole thing I would like to convey … is Newport Florist is artistry with flowers. It’s about the art form of floral design. That’s what really separates us from the things you can get at the grocery store or whatnot.”

She also tries to support the local community […]