Tom and Michelle Bedford are seen in the new rose-themed cafe area at the renovated Mattern’s floral boutique on Market Street in Kingston. A grand opening is set for Saturday, Sept. 18.
                                 Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

Tom and Michelle Bedford are seen in the new rose-themed cafe area at the renovated Mattern’s floral boutique on Market Street in Kingston. A grand opening is set for Saturday, Sept. 18.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

Grand opening set for Sept. 18

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<p>The staff at Mattern’s gather outside the renovated Kingston floral boutique on Friday.</p>
                                 <p>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader</p>

The staff at Mattern’s gather outside the renovated Kingston floral boutique on Friday.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

<p>This rose latte by cafe manager Kaley Rider is among the offerings at Mattern’s new cafe.</p>
                                 <p>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader</p>

This rose latte by cafe manager Kaley Rider is among the offerings at Mattern’s new cafe.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

<p>Michelle Bedford holds a lavender latte in the new cafe at Mattern’s, the longtime Kingston floral boutique she purchased four years ago and has just remodeled.</p>
                                 <p>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader</p>

Michelle Bedford holds a lavender latte in the new cafe at Mattern’s, the longtime Kingston floral boutique she purchased four years ago and has just remodeled.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

<p>Cafe manager Kaley Rider is seen in the new coffee bar at Mattern’s in Kingston.</p>
                                 <p>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader</p>

Cafe manager Kaley Rider is seen in the new coffee bar at Mattern’s in Kingston.

Roger DuPuis | Times Leader

KINGSTON — Four years after taking over the longtime local flower shop, Michelle Bedford is ready to take Mattern’s to the next level.

With an extensive year-long renovation of the Market Street business complete, Bedford and husband Tom are ready to debut Mattern’s new floral themed-cafe, together with a transformed showroom that will allow them to focus more on a comprehensive range of wedding services, from flowers and planning to registry items.

Grand opening of the new space is set for next Saturday, Sept. 18.

In the cozy corner cafe guests will be able to sip a range of floral-themed coffees and teas, together with cookies and other baked goods, in plush pink booths nestled beneath an eye-popping wall of pale roses.

“This has always been on my mind since I bought the shop: How cool would it be to have flowers and coffee,” Bedford said Friday as she gently cradled a lavender latte.

“We have customers who come in and say ‘your store is so beautiful, we wish we could sit here all day.’ Well, now you can.”

Evolution

In 2017, Mattern’s Floral and Gift, as it was then known, had been in business for over a century — having originally operated in Wilkes-Barre before moving to Kingston in the 1990s — and third-generation owner Tom Mattern and wife Maria were looking to retire.

“I was freelancing and doing weddings on my own out of my house,” Bedford recalled. “I saw that the business was for sale, and the rest is kind of history.”

Since then, it’s been a process of learning what works and how to focus on those strengths.

“When we took the shop over originally the retail offerings were very different out here, and this is a very large space,” she added.

Home decor items had been prominent on the floor, but as Bedford noted, many items were too similar to what customers can buy at chain retailers. So last year, during a visit to an industry market in Atlanta, she was thinking hard about a change in focus.

“I said look, we either need to come up with a new concept for the front or we need to rent it out. Because our weddings and the fresh flowers are working as they should.”

Recent trends confirm that.

“Last weekend we had five weddings, and this weekend we have four,” Bedford said.

The plan, in effect, was to double down on wedding-related goods and services, and create that dreamed-about cafe.

Michelle’s husband, Tom Bedford, agreed, noting that weddings — “from consultation and planning to just the flowers and everything in between” — are a major element of the business.

“The core offering here has been floral arrangements, weddings, events. We’ve had a retail boutique for some time, but we always wanted it to tie into what we offer — floral arrangements for individuals or events, proms, funerals, weddings,” Tom Bedford said. “We looked at it and said, how can we better use this space? How can we continue to keep offering what people love Mattern’s for while also keeping it relevant to what they’re coming into the store for?”

In that spirit, customers will be offered a bridal registry option, with samples of available items — including china and glassware and a line of stylish retro appliances — displayed on the floor and a larger inventory available for browsing online at matternsfloral.com and on the shop’s Facebook page.

“These are the sort of gifts that as a couple you would love to have on your registry list. That allows us to offer a full start to finish — planning, flowers, registry — and what’s more you can have your consultations in a lovely cafe drinking floral coffees,” Tom Bedford said.

Michelle Bedford said the shop also will have a floral bar. They’ve always had grab-and-go arrangements, but added to that are vases of fresh flowers people can pick from, she said.

The cafe

Customers won’t be able to miss the rose-hued cafe area, or the distinctive coffee bar from which steaming lattes and other treats will be served.

“We wanted something that was unique, Instagrammable, something that would stand out on social media,” Tom Bedford said.

Michelle Bedford said she worked with local contractor Mark Callahan to create a truly unique design for the adjacent coffee bar.

“I was like, ‘drill a hole in the counter, I want a tree to come out of it,’” she said with a chuckle. “He was awesome.”

The result complements the overall floral theme. That theme will run through the cafe offerings as well.

Food items will include macarons, muffins, cupcakes all baked locally between Scranton and Kingston, Tom Bedford said, while the coffee comes from Wayne County.

Kaley Rider, the new cafe manager, said Black and Brass Coffee Roasting Co. in Honesdale created a dark roast for the shop, Mattern’s Blend.

Rider showed off her latte artistry during an interview on Friday, including a delicate drink topped with rosebuds.

“We’re trying to tie in the floral aspect with our drinks — lavender, violet, rose — as well as teas imported from Fortnum and Mason of London,” said Rider, a Kingston native who formerly was a manager at Common Grounds Cafe in Kingston.

“That’s a really unique aspect for Northeast Pa. You really don’t see that anywhere else,” Rider said. “I just love this theme, and of course everyone here is friendly.”

Tom Bedford, who came to the U.S. from London, proudly noted that Fortnum and Mason are grocers to Queen Elizabeth II.

“All the tea that we supply is the tea that the Queen drinks,” he said with a smile.

In that British spirit, he said that Mattern’s will look at offering an afternoon tea experience that could include little sandwiches, macarons, tea.

“Michelle has a great vision. I brought a sort of London element to it,” he said.

Looking ahead

What’s in the future?

According to Michelle Bedford, hopefully a second location at some point.

“We’re aching to go to Scranton,” she said.

For the moment, though, it’s go-time on Market Street.

A soft opening for the renovated shop will be Monday, and as noted the grand opening is set for next Saturday.

“Everyone will be welcome to come in, try our coffees, shop,” Tom Bedford said.