She took a chance, bought a store, and got a grant

In November 2020, Samantha Hillkewicz opened Boulevard Florist, in Center Moriches on Main Street, in the middle of COVID. “We all wore masks, left stuff on porches, and did contactless deliveries,” she recalled. “It was ring and run. And a lot of disinfectant.”

The William Floyd alumna was 22.

But it was the Christmas season, people weren’t going far, and customers began clamoring locally for flowers and gifts. Her social media and internet savvy attracted phone calls, online orders, and walk-ins.

She joined the Center Moriches Chamber and just kept at it, posting the shop and the faces of the business. “It’s very important for people to know what you’re selling, but also who you are,” she said.

Hillkewicz’s business savvy and perseverance recently won her a $5,000 Optimum L.O.C.A.L. Small Business grant.

“I’ll redo the refrigeration,” she said, looking at the dated unit in front of her. “I did an energy audit with PSE&G. I need more sealant, a new air conditioner—the current one is from early 2000—and we need to update the fluorescent lighting. My electric bills are through the roof.”

Hillkewicz was among 50 Long Island Optimum L.O.C.A.L. Small Business grant winners, including Brothers 4 Pizza in Center Moriches. El Matador Restaurant in Patchogue and Patch Print Ship & More in Patchogue, as well as Recipes 4 in Bellport, were the other local winners. Optimum Business partnered with the LIA Foundation on the grants.

During the interview, Baily, the sweet Shih Tzu, hovered nearby. The 1,200-square-foot space has an attractive, homey show room with orchids, cactus and peace plants, bunches of lilies and mums in containers, kitchen towels, candles named after local hamlets, little crystal cardinals. There’s a side room with an office and design area. There were two assistants the day of the interview and her mom, Maria Smith, was taking care of a customer, but more about her later.

As for sales, “I’ve seen since April to now, we’re in the thousands with orders,” she said in August.

Hillkewicz is also a William Floyd High School success story. She signed up for their Career and Technical Education program in sophomore and junior year. Courses included fashion marketing and business tax classes; she joined a Future Business Leaders of America Club.

“In Business Ownership and Management, the class operates as a corporation—CEO, CFO, there were different positions,” she said. “I even went to a sleepaway summer learning camp at Long Island University Post.”

What pushed her?

“I always had an interest in business,” she said. (Hillkewicz has a good sense of humor and was wearing a Bouquet Boss T-shirt.) “I never really saw myself working for someone. Mom worked 10 hours a day, but at the end of the day, it was for us.

“Both of my parents were go-getters and worked extremely hard. They were good examples.”

Mom Maria Smith worked at Sunshine Florist starting at age 15, advanced to manager and head designer, and opened a daycare business in her home in 2006. Then she became a real estate salesperson.

Hillkewicz studied entrepreneurship at Johnson & Wales University for a year and graduated from SUNY Oneonta; her major was child and family studies.

She was working at Sunrise Senior Living in East Setauket when her mom tipped her off that the floral shop, a longtime presence, was for sale.

Talk about a dream location—Boulevard Floral, at 272 Main Street, is right across the street from Rico’s Clothing.

“I had no floral design experience,” Hillkewicz said. “Mom was the designer, so I slowly learned.

The business involves long hours, many times seven days a week. She’s at it to 10 p.m., posting items before sleep. She does get in a walk with Baily once a day. “Every email I make and phone call I make is for my family,” she said. “You have to be disciplined.

“Because when things are tough, you only have yourself to rely on.”