Jefferson City's longest continually operating retail business is changing hands.
John and Gwen Pelzer have sold Busch's Florist to Nick and Heather McKague. The new owners may be young - Nick is 25 - but they already have education and experience they say will make Busch's a perfect fit.
Heather has worked at Busch's for the past two years as a customer service representative. Nick is a mortician and part owner of Millard Family Funeral Chapel in Linn. He also oversees operations at the Houser funeral homes in Chamois and Westphalia. He plans to keep working as a mortician, while spending a good amount of time working at Busch's.
"That's kind of how I got drawn to this, thinking it could be a good opportunity," Nick said. "I learned about flowers through the funeral industry - helping families with flowers and going through Busch's. That's why I knew everyone down here."
Both Nick and Heather also have studied business in college. Nick majored in political science and minored in business at the University of Missouri - Columbia. Heather is studying business at Lincoln University.
Nick said they don't plan much in the way of changes for the business. The employees, including longtime manager Janna Mahan, will stay. "We're just going to try to keep that same Busch's high quality that has worked for 125 years," he said.
Pelzer bought the business in 2001. He said selling Busch's will give him the chance to focus on his longtime lobbying business, John Pelzer & Associates.
"While I owned a small business, it was hard to do too much else in other areas," Pelzer said. "I'm kind of at the point in my life where there's a few more things I want to try and do, so it's a good opportunity for me."
Pelzer said the McKagues are a good fit for Busch's with their youth, energy and ideas.
"We just want to be here to provide customers with the best possible service that we can," Nick said. "If there's something special that they want, we want to make that special. No job is too big, and nothing's too unique."