S Old State Capitol Plaza is a beautiful space in the heart of Downtown Springfield. Backed up as it is to the Old State Capitol Plaza itself, one can happily take in the grand, historical structure that housed so much of the early governmental history of Springfield, Illinois, and the United States itself.
One only has to walk towards the east end of the plaza to find Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd, and a number of their children, there too.
But there are treasures of a different sort in the plaza as well. A great, massive book store, the office of the Junior United States Senator from Illinois, some restaurants, some more history, an art gallery, and – coming this summer – a special space that three friends from around the area conceived of with each of their own passions and strengths in mind and at heart.
When one walks into Bloom Wine Bar and Florals, it is an immediate explosion of personality that greets you at the second door you enter. The walls are a light rosish color – it is both appropriately soft and chic, a pleasant greeting and a statement all in one.
Your eyes are greeted straight ahead of you, what we might call the farside wall from here on out – by a simple, attractive sign that identifies further this establishment you’ve just entered – “Bloom.”
The furniture before you is comfortable midcentury modern, and the flowers hanging from the ceiling are fun, beautiful, and a bit whimsical in their own right as well.
This, however, is only the entrance. You’ve still got to walk into the rest of a space much larger than one might surmise from appraising the outside of it.
Tables and cabinets sit on one wall – the far side wall – and opposite that, stands more tables; tools and resources sit upon some of them still, but soon, flowers and foods, drinks, puzzles, and cell phones will take their place.
Stairs leading into the basement sit on that farside wall, but keeping to your right brings you towards an area with more hanging flowers, as well as towards more tables with booths on the right side – up against the door-side wall – and chairs on the other.
This looks to be a place where one might consider sitting with a friend or with family to enjoy a bit of food alongside the wine and drinks that are offered; the bar, after all, is right there.
It sits on the farside wall, and can handle quite a few thirsty patrons; Brittney, Hannah, and Caitlin look to have their hands full in the coming months, but only because of the attention and passion that the three owners of Bloom have poured into this venture over the months and months of preparation, planning, and perseverance.
At this point, as Brittney wryly notes, “…we’re on other people’s time now.”
But soon – after all the final inspections, external and internal touch-ups, and permits are in place – it will, in fact, be go time. Sitting down with the owners of Bloom, one’s mind can’t help but ask, what passions bore this space and its numerous uses and different potential applications?
Yet after spending just a bit of time with Brittney Robinson, Caitlin Becker, and Hannah Goss, it becomes obvious enough to ask quite openly: Would you say that Bloom is simply the sum of the passions and strengths of each of you?
The smiles that bloomed across each of their faces acted as the prelude to the forthcoming replies; “yes, absolutely!”
Brittney works in veterinary medicine, and is a natural creative; while she has passion for medicine – animal medicine, that is – she also loves exercising her creativity through mediums such as the design and construction of this establishment. Her passion for creating beauty arrangments of flowers led to the creative, imaginative floral aspect that Bloom will be offering to those who come in – whether they’d like to have a drink or a bite of food or not.
Building a flower display, she notes, is fun, creative, and something that anyone can do without feeling any sort of artistic insecurity; “…it’s difficult to create a bad display of flowers – they’re flowers!”
Caitlin is a physical therapist; her background work at the hospital is mostly in the ICU and the emergency department. Outside of work, she likes to spend time with her husband, friends, and family. She loves to travel a lot, and – in fact – it is this love that transported her to Italy as a 20-year-old. It is there that she found her passion for wine – which she gleefully recounts – and there, in so many ways, where Bloom would be first seeded in her own mind.
And then we have Hannah; Hannah begins by explaining that she has done so many different jobs across her adult life. She has also worked in veterinary medicine – alongside Brittney at points – but she has worked in customer service and retail as well; she currently runs the Orange Theory Fitness in Springfield, and she beams as she discusses her passion for people.
“I love people, speaking with people, helping them, getting to know them – I’m by nature nosey, so I like to know things and am interested in getting to positively interact with our community….Caitie’s got her love and knowledge of different wines and foods and – you know – Brittany is the creator, and I love people. So it just means a lot for us to be able to exercise those passions and actively apply them in our everyday work at Bloom….”
So Bloom is a wine bar – a place for drinks and food. Bloom is an event space, for private and public gatherings. It is a creative space, for making floral arrangements, writing, or catching up on the book you’ve been reading. Hence, it requires individuals passionate about drinks and food, it requires extroverts, and it requires creatives.
The role, therefore, of all three in what might be called the cultivation and nurturing of Bloom from a seed to a sproutling and beyond is apparent and obvious.
Each has played their part to this point – both individually, as well as collectively – but they know that the journey is still in its early stages; Caitlin laughingly said as much at the very start of the interview.
“There is no manual or checklist to tell you what to do, when to do it or how to do it best and most effectively; you’re kind’ve in the wilderness….But there’s a sense of pride there [in building and growing Bloom from an idea to a reality] that I think is very different than anything I’ve ever done in the past.”
The wilderness that the three owners of Bloom have so far traversed has brought them to this point – but in order to make their endeavor bloom as beautifully as they would like for it to, they know they will need to continue to evolve, grow with the business itself. They know that they will have to make sure to give back to the local community in the same and similar ways as they have been helped by Springfield during this adventure; Hannah put it particularly eloquently at one point in the discussion.
“We’re very lucky to be a part of the community down here. Everyone’s been wonderful. Nobody seems to be like, ‘oh great, another bar is opening up downtown.’ Everybody’s welcomed us with open arms and have been very excited to see what we have to offer. So we’re excited to give back to the community as well….We love downtown, and we think that it has so much potential to be truly awesome. I mean, just walking around, there are so many things that people don’t know or hear about, simply because they just don’t take the time to pay attention and search. So I think just – you know – building up the businesses in our community and the business owners, and even if it’s just kind of a shout out on social media, stopping in to look at or maybe purchase their products, or just stepping in to introduce who we each are is super important, because we all want to succeed out here. We’ve all got to support one another to make mutual success a reality.”
Brittney quickly built on those tenants and ideas herself.
“We would love to be a resource for other entrepreneurs looking to do something similar to what we’ve done. A lot of advice that we were given [by other businesses and owners] was very transparent, and it was very much like – you know – nothing was expected in return. And so we just want to continue that forward with other new businesses; even if it’s not wine or floral related, it could be anything because so many of the principles there – and the steps to get there – are very similar.”
Asked what Bloom means to them on a deeper level, they answered as a united collective.
“As three women, business owners, and best friends, our values reflect empathy, equality, creativity, and a commitment to an ethics of love. We have made it a priority to create a space where – hopefully – all people can feel authentically at home. We want to create an experience for our community where our patrons can be hands-on to create a beautiful floral bouquet while sipping on fine wine, can try carefully selected cheese and wine pairings, or simply relax with good company.”
And what about the drinks, the wine, and the food, you ask?
“There are so many [wines and drinks]! Our favorite thing to eat is the curated selection of meats and cheeses. We’ve focused on what pairs well together to provide the ultimate flavor affinities for our patrons. Our flatbreads are fantastic too! The total experience – for our patrons – will be a reminder to enjoy life’s beauty, enjoy the little things, love one another, and of course, to stop and smell the roses once in a while.”
After the lovely discussion we had with Brittney, Caitlin, and Hannah – and as WMAY was packing up our own materials and taking pictures of the place – we couldn’t help but feel that we were, indeed, witnessing something interesting and unique bloom before our very eyes. Bloom’s owners are ambitious and dedicated to being a part of Springfield.
“We are ready to start engaging with the community by providing outdoor floral markets on weekends – we are still determining this, and will keep the community updated as that all progresses. We are also participating in the Fatass 5k, where we will have a spot on the route with wine and other fun surprises for the participants. Springfield’s Pridefest is May 20, and during this event, we will have an outdoor flower crown workshop, plus different pride gear for sale; even though we can’t open our doors just yet, we’re ready to start interacting with our community!”
A calm, positive, versatile and utterly unique setting will soon be open right by the statue of Mr. Lincoln and his family. The owners of Bloom, however, are not content to sit upon the sidelines and watch until their space is open to all – they wish to bring the spirit of Bloom to the people themselves!
So next time you’re in Downtown Springfield, keep in mind that, while you’re taking in the lovely history that surrounds an individual as they’re at the S Old State Capitol Plaza, there is more to our community than just our rich past alone; one must be sure to check out those spots and spaces like Bloom that are creating their own future – as well as the history that comes with it – before our very eyes.
Our thanks to Caitlin, Brittany, and Hannah for all of their consideration, effort and time.
