The Florist's Last Stand: Farrah's Fights Starbucks

For the first time in almost 65 years, Saeed Maoyedi says a flower shop could cease to occupy the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and 11th Street.

Maoyedi is the owner of Farrah's Florist and he is in the middle of a campaign to prevent Starbucks from replacing his business, which he said has rented the space at 1030 Wilshire Blvd. for nearly 25 years. 

"I have a customer who lives in New York, he still comes in from New York City and he tells me about coming in here when he was just a boy," said Maoyedi.

The old-fashioned message board above the quaint shop's red awning is displaying a new message this week, "Help Save Your Florist Say No To Starbucks," and it tells customers to come inside to sign a petition protesting the coffee company's move.

On Tuesday, it lured in longtime resident Sara Meric. "When is this awful thing going to happen?" she asked over chirps from a parrot. "I hate Starbucks with such a passion."

There are at least a dozen Starbucks coffee shops open in Santa Monica.

Meric admitted she had only just begun shopping at Farrah's and did not have a particular attachment to the business, but said she "hates watching long established businesses disappear."

Farrah's lease, managed by Terra Pacific Real Estate Services, Inc., expired a few years ago and he was never given the option to renew, according to Maoyedi. He said he found out about Starbucks moving in when he arrived to work one morning and saw  notices from the city posted on the windows.

The signs say GPA Inc., for Starbucks Coffee, is seeking permission from the Architectural Review Board to remodel the facade and add new Starbucks signs.

A voice message left with Terra Pacific Tuesday has not been returned.

An attorney representing Maoyedi says he wants to "work things out" with the landlord.

A public hearing about the proposed changes is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

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