Rose Garden Resident

Cover Story

Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Blooming Business: Gary Citti, son of Citti's Florists founder Gloria Citti, manages the family business finances. Citti continues to live in Santa Clara, where he was born and raised.

Blossoming Business

Citti family reigns in florist industry

By Mary Gottschalk

On May 13, the Citti family will celebrate Mother's Day much as they do every year, helping others mark the day with bouquets from Citti's Florists.

"Mother's Day is our busiest holiday because it's a double impact," says Chris Citti.

"Generally we get two or more orders from a customer, versus on Valentine's Day you usually get one order," he says.

On Valentine's Day, a man may order flowers for his sweetheart, but on Mother's Day, it can include a wife, mother, mother-in-law and a grandmother, he explains.

"Since we're in the top 100 florists in the nation, it also impacts us sending and receiving orders. Mother's Day is the largest holiday for flowers being sent by wire," Chris says.

Since Citti's is open on Mother's Day, Chris says, "Our family works to noon, and then we take all the moms in our family and we typically go to brunch at the Capital Club."

When they head home, most will go to the Rose Garden neighborhood, an appropriate home for Silicon Valley's first family of florists.

Matriarch and founder Gloria Citti, son Chris and daughter Adrianna Citti Glascott all live within a block or two of the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.

Eldest son Gary is the only one who has resisted the pull of the Rose Garden.

"I was born and raised in Santa Clara; my roots are here. I've never given any thought to moving," Gary says.

Santa Clara was the birthplace of Gloria and her late husband Fedele, their three children and their business, which started in 1962.

Gloria's parents, Tuscany natives Elide and Eliseo Della Maggoire, owned a ranch in Santa Clara where she grew up.

Fedele's parents were also immigrants, who returned to Tuscany when he was a small child. They spent several years there before returning to Santa Clara.

"My mom and dad and Fedele's parents instilled a strong work ethic in us. You did whatever you had to do to get the job done, and they taught us commitment," Gloria says. "The basics of success in business were instilled in us at a very young age."

Recalling her childhood on her family's ranch on Homestead Road, now the site of St. Justin's Catholic Church, Gloria says, "I've always had a great love of plants and flowers and trees.

"When Fedele and I were first married in 1950, I did the flowers for the church and then the school," Gloria says.

"We were very young and things were slim, and the church didn't have a budget for decorating, so I went out to Alviso because there's so much vegetation there.

"I took a group from the Ladies' Guild to pick cattails for the fall fundraiser. We went out and picked cattails and leaves and made gorgeous arrangements.

"It was nurturing. It's just something that has always been very much a part of me."

In 1962, Gloria and Fedele decided to start a flower shop.

"When you start a business, it takes a while to get it up and running," Gloria says.

"For the first three years, I ran the flower shop and Fedele continued to work with Southern Pacific. He would come home in the evening and help me at the shop, and on weekends, he had a flower stand on major traffic sites."

After three years, Gloria says, "We knew it was going to be a success, so Fedele came into the business full time."

Gloria says when they started, they made three trips a week to the San Francisco flower mart, usually at 2 or 3 a.m.

"At that time, California was one of the largest floral-producing states in the United States. It was very beautiful. We'd go in and do our buying and have breakfast. Fedele would go to his job in the city, and I'd come back with all these wonderful flowers to sell," Gloria says.

"Part of the success of our business was we always had a very fresh product. It meant a big commitment and dedication. A lot of shops would go up once a week, but we went three times a week."

About five years after starting Citti's Florists, Gloria says, "Fedele bought his first property, which is on the corner of Scott and Homestead roads. That was the first store we did with our own architect."

The chain grew to five stores, but after selling two locations, the family now has the original store as well as ones on the corner of Stevens Creek and Winchester boulevards as well as at Bascom and Hamilton avenues.

Gloria says she picked those locations after reading Dale Carnegie's advice on successful real estate buying in New York.

"One of his criteria for acquisition was buying corners because he knew eventually those would be prominent areas," Gloria says.

Gloria also used a newspaper article list of the highest traffic corners in Santa Clara County as a guide.

"They listed 15 or 25 corners, and we acquired two in the top five," she says. "I know in my heart it was God that guided us."

Gloria's personal faith is very strong.

Asked if there is a secret to the family's success, she says, "Just dedication. Just being inspired and committed to a lot of hard work and a lot of luck. We were blessed."

A lot of nonprofit groups in Silicon Valley feel the Cittis have blessed them.

Fedele and Gloria were among the first proponents of the American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days project, helping to launch it. Citti's Florists continues to work on it each year.

Each March, the society takes orders for daffodils, the first flower of spring, representing hope and renewal. Some people purchase bunches of the sunny yellow flowers for themselves, while others buy flowers for delivery to cancer patients in area hospitals.

"Fedele and I started it because our hearts were committed to the American Cancer Society. I'd lost my mother to cancer, and we'd lost friends," Gloria recalls.

"When Fedele was ill and a cancer patient, he was at O'Connor Hospital and it happened to be March. In came these beautiful daffodils for Fedele."

Now in its 22nd year, this year's Daffodil Days raised $403,000 through the sale of 160,000 daffodils.

The Cittis have also been longtime supporters of Hope Services, which assists people with developmental disabilities live and participate in their communities.

Gloria helped organize their first fashion shows, insisting that Hope clients be included as models alongside community leaders.

Last year the Cittis held an invitational golf tournament in honor of Fedele, an avid golfer.

Proceeds from that were used for scholarships for students at Archbishop Mitty High School.

The second annual Fedele Citti Family Golf Invitational will be held Sept. 14 at Coyote Creek Golf Course.

This year, Gary says proceeds will be used to provide higher education scholarships to students throughout Santa Clara County.

Gary says it's a way of recognizing his father's legacy, both personally and professionally.

Recalling the early days, Gary says, "I've been in the business since it started. I just helped my parents as they needed it.

"I'd help Dad with the flower stands. Mom would run the florist shop and Dad would run the flower stands on weekends."

Today, Gary handles the finances for the chain.

Chris, the Cittis' middle child, oversees design, production and all the corporate accounts, including the Fairmont Hotel, Adobe Systems and Intel.

"When my mom and dad started, I used to go my grandparents' house and from 5 on, I went to school," Chris says.

"After school I'd walk back to the shop and do my homework, and then we'd go home and have dinner."

Adrianna, the youngest child, says, "I was the only member born into the business. I've worked since I was a child.

"As early as high school, I was selling on the floor, and I worked while attending Santa Clara University. I came out of Santa Clara and started managing the Campbell store and eventually became head of sales."

The business has been "a central part of our lives," Adrianna says.

"It's more than working. We've had so many wonderful employees and some became good friends. We knew their families and all the community people we interact with on a daily basis. It's been more than a 9 to 5 job."

Chris was the first Citti to move into the Rose Garden neighborhood, 22 years ago.

"I was looking at Willow Glen and the Rose Garden. I liked the beauty of this home. It had a large back yard and the two previous owners were gardeners, so it was well landscaped. Of course, I've added to it, and I love the Rose Garden itself," he says.

Chris says when he bought his home on Garden Drive he didn't think about the connection between the street name and his profession. However, friends did and started teasing him about it.

Gloria and Fedele found their home on University Avenue a few years later.

"We always said if we were ever going to move from Santa Clara, it would be to the Rose Garden," Gloria says.

"We were doing a wedding in the garden of the home I now own and when Chris was doing the job, the owner said in a couple of years he was going to sell the property because his children would be in college and the house would be too big.

"Chris said, 'Please let us know, my parents are interested in moving here.' That's how it came about."

Former San Jose postmaster John Chase built the house.

"It has a lot of history," Gloria says of the house.

"Mr. Chase was one of the heads of the state Republican Party, and President Hoover visited the house.

"John Chase Jr. is still living and he says the butler allowed the boys to stand up at the top of the spiral staircase and peek through the banister to see the president."

Gloria says she and Fedele worked "to keep the integrity of the home. It's been a lot of fun."

Gloria sees the neighborhood as "another blessing. It ties into our profession, and it's my favorite area in San Jose. I like all the birds and squirrels racing around the trees. It's very quiet and tranquil.

"It's a wonderful place for our children, and our grandchildren love to play hide and seek. There's a grove of redwoods in the back yard and a hidden garden."

Adrianna and her husband, Tom Glascott, moved to their home on Hedding Street a dozen years ago.

"The most important factor was my parents were so close," she says. "I had babies, and we wanted to be closer to my parents, and my brother is right across the street.

"We just really enjoy the Rose Garden. We like the area for our children. They go to St. Martin of Tours and they can ride their bikes, and that's the church Tom and I go to. We love this area."

That Citti's will continue to be a family operation looks fairly certain.

Adrianna says her children, Tommy and Alyssa, occasionally come into the stores to help.

"All the grandchildren come in. They always enjoy the store. They really enjoy sharing their flowers. For any kind of special function, they'll say, 'Mom, we need this or that,' " Adrianna says.

"They have a sense of pride."

The story is much the same with Gary and Linda's children.

Daughter Christina is still in college, but son Justin is already working full time in management training and is assistant manager for the San Jose store.

Gloria remains active with the company she founded.

"I come in when I want and at this point in time I can. I'm comfortable with that," she says.

"I love seeing the customers. I love seeing the shop when it's full and beautiful and I love interfacing with the people. Customers come in I've known all my life. People we've met as customers have become friends. It's part of our extended family.

"When someone comes in the store and you did their wedding and now you're doing their children's weddings and then their grandchild's, it is pretty exciting."