Lady Fleur 236 East 80th Street 917-847-1522 Established 2022
NOW
Originally from Turkey, owner Sibel Mermelstein moved to the United States in 1979 at the age of ten, and has remained in Manhattan ever since. She began working in the floral industry as an employee of distinguished French florist, Olivier Giugni. After being told she has a “good eye,” Sibel branched out working at The Mark Hotel and the Core Club.
Years later, she began running a floral business out of her apartment, and then finally made the leap to having her own proper retail space in early 2022. Lady Fleur was embraced immediately by the neighborhood and beyond. She was even featured in Vogue magazine’s Valentine’s Day edition. There, in response to being questioned about her magnificent colorful and creative arrangements, Sibel famously stated, “Love should be in every color, not just red.”
THEN
This 6-story tenement building stands on the south side of East 80th Street, hardly altered. Commissioned by Jacob Wimpie, and designed by prolific architect Bernstein & Bernstein, the brick and stone tenement was built in 1906, with ground floor stores. The detailed stonework of the windows lintels and watertables is characteristic of the time. In the 1920s Blanche Keller owned the Mecca Tearoom, located at the building. Sadly, Ms. Keller was murdered at the age of 25 by one of her suitors, Charles Himmer, a German baker, who later committed suicide. In the 1980s and 90s, the building housed Jana Starr-Jean Hoffman Antiques, a store that specialized in turn-of-the-century wedding gowns.
