Home Waynesboro: Webber Payne embraces change of pace after closing downtown flower shop
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Waynesboro: Webber Payne embraces change of pace after closing downtown flower shop

Crystal Graham
webber payne waynesboro florist downtown
Webber Payne, submitted

Webber Payne will be spending Valentine’s Day celebrating the first birthday of his grandson in Charlotte – something that is a huge departure from the many years he spent running his downtown flower shop.

Payne, 68, closed Waynesboro Florist on Dec. 20 and admits he is relieved that the holiday rush of Feb. 14 is now a thing of the past for him.

Running the flower business hasn’t been easy; he’s faced numerous challenges over the years from Walmart to Coronavirus to downtown flooding and trying to adapt to internet flower sales.

Despite the challenges, Payne said he has no complaints. Quite simply, he chose to take over the family business and has no regrets.

“I feel guilty that they [his parents] started the business and then I closed it up,” Payne told AFP. Plans for a buyer to take over didn’t materialize, and he didn’t want to keep the doors open any longer just waiting for someone to take over.

Payne said he doesn’t blame his own children for not wanting to take over the family business like he did for his parents.

“My children have good jobs with benefits, health insurance … I don’t want them working 12 hours a day like I did.”

He’s watched Downtown Waynesboro change over the years and remembers fondly a bustling downtown with shoppers at Roses and Leggett. Today, it’s busy around lunchtime most days, but a ghost town on others when restaurants are closed.

“You couldn’t find a parking spot on Friday night,” he said, reminiscing about the old days. “We used to stay open until 7 o’clock on Friday night. People don’t shop like they used to. They go wherever they’re going to go. They don’t park and just walk around town like they used to. You just have to adjust.”

Like many small business owners, he worked 365 days a year, opening most days at 7 a.m. and closing around 4 or 5 p.m. He’s taken very few vacations over the years; only the occasional long weekend.

“I can remember my parents missed a lot of things as we were growing up, because they were working,” he said. “When my kids got to high school, I wasn’t going to miss things, and I didn’t, but there are things you missed: family vacations for one.”

Since he closed his doors, he’s been to three funerals. It reinforces that he made the right decision to step away while he can still enjoy life.

“You know, enough is enough,” he said. “I made the right decision because I want joy.”

He said he’s taking pleasure in the simple things: his cat and bird watching among them. He’s visited his grandson in Charlotte and wants to visit his brother in Pawleys Island soon.

He’s also looking forward to warmer weather so he can get outside and do some gardening and enjoy the screened-in porch of his Tree Streets home.

“I don’t say I have a honey-do list, but there’s stuff around the house that I’ve neglected. Now, I’ve got time.”

His wife, Bev, wants to travel and has her eyes on booking a trip to London.

“Hopefully, in the summertime, we’ll take a trip somewhere, whether it be London or somewhere else,” he said.

Payne owns the building that housed Waynesboro Florist and rents space to both Stella, Bella & Lucy’s and South River Fly Shop. He’s busy getting the former floral shop ready to rent: having the floors updated and putting some fresh paint on the walls.

He’s surprised by how emotional he is when he goes back to his floral shop – empty now except for a few odds and ends and some coolers.

“I go there a couple hours a day, but my emotions get the best of me,” Payne told AFP. “I’ve been doing this for 50 years and getting rid of stuff that my parents had when they started 65 years ago, it’s kind of tough. I didn’t think I’d have this problem.”

It’s hard to imagine a downtown without Waynesboro Florist.

“They’ll survive, I’m sure,” he said. “I’m not gonna disappear, but it’s kind of nice not to wake up so early every morning.

“It’s been a change, but it’s one that I look forward to.”

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.

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