Delahey Village florist refuses to close during Melbourne lockdown

A florist in Melbourne’s west thought of a bright idea that helped him skirt the law to remain open in lockdown. Here’s what he did.

A florist in Melbourne’s west has taken a stand against the State Government’s stage four lockdown by refusing to close.

Vince Cidoni, owner of the Delahey Village Florist, said it was do or die for his business and he stood to lose up to $120,000 if he shut over the critical Valentine’s Day weekend.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced a strict statewide lockdown on Friday after failures in hotel quarantine resulted in more COVID-19 cases linked to the Holiday Inn cluster.

The snap decision caused chaos for florists, wedding venues and restaurants just a day before one of their busiest weekends of the year.

Mr Cidoni said no financial support was flagged to help businesses like his cope with the latest lockdown.

He said he made the decision to stay open by “adapting” his business model to sell fresh produce as well as flowers by parking a shopping trolley with oranges and potatoes at his Delahey Village and Moonee Ponds stores.

Only essential retailers such as supermarkets and pharmacies can open during stage four lockdown.

Mr Cidoni said he would argue the point with authorities if they tried to close either of his stores.

“We took the risk to open, but the thing is it was either that or go broke,” Mr Cidoni said.

“For florists it’s make or break, and unfortunately for a lot of people, this is going to break them.

“If it wasn’t Valentine’s Day, we probably would have closed. But when you’ve invested over $120,000 in flowers to sell over the two days, how can you close?”

Many told the store’s critics to cut them some slack.

Social media users applauded Mr Cidoni’s decision to stay open.

“You’ve got to find solutions to survive in business. If it if means long term we’re going to have to make our flower business a fruit and vegetable business, then that’s the way it’s got to be.”

Delahey Village shopper Alexia Melvin said she supported the florist remaining open when the Leader visited the store on Monday.

“I’m feeling very sorry for them because they’ve obviously got all this stock in for Valentine’s Day and they haven’t been able to sell it,” she said.

The store also received an outpouring of support online.

Some social media users wrote on Facebook it was unfair the store had opened while other florists remained shut, and one woman called for others to boycott the shop.

But most of the 264 comments congratulated Mr Cidoni for doing what he could to stay afloat.

“Good on them for thinking outside the square,” one woman wrote.

“If they have found a loop hole, then good on them. I think it is very mean spirited bad mouthing a local small business,” another woman wrote.

Mr Cidoni said he was moved by the support he’d received in store and online.

Police had even dropped by his shop to buy flowers over the weekend, he said, and he said he was grateful to his loyal customers.