By Jasmin Sanchez, Class of 2022

McGinley Square in Jersey City is not only the home to Peacock Nation, but also a variety of different restaurants, a diverse population and many local shops such as a Hudson Florist.

Located on 741A Bergen Avenue, Hudson Florist is your one -stop shop for gardening supplies and flowers. A family-owned business, they have been in the floral industry since 1991. Owners Kathy and George Mercado took over the Hudson Florist business in 2016, working alongside their daughter Amanda Mercado.

Amanda Mercado manages the store.

42-year old Erica Guerrero, also plays a vital role in making sure things run smoothly at Hudson Florist. She has experience working at flower shops for the past nine years, but joined Amanda Mercado two years ago.

“I feel like we gave Bergen Avenue a spot for people to come in, even … leisure walks around. Some people come in here and they say it’s like therapeutic in here,” said Mercado.

The store is filled with a variety of flowers, but they also have floral decorations with stars to add to the interior of the shop.

Mercado discussed the importance of cleaning up the area around you and also adding life to your stoop with pots.

“Cleaning up the street, putting pots outside things like that always help you know, even just taking pride in your front house or shop…it all adds up to the block you know,” said Mercado.

Hudson Florist remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Through COVID it was a little hard, people were scared to come outside but thankfully we were considered an essential business because we are a garden center,” shared Mercado. “So, it was nice people would come in [and] they walked around because it wasn’t like a supermarket, there [was] only supermarkets open or … a pharmacy.”

Hudson Florist was considered an essential business during the pandemic since they are a garden center.

“It was on the slow side, but still we were lucky to be open even so [we] really can’t complain … ,” said Mercado.

Not only does this shop supply the Jersey City community with all of their gardening and floral products, but the entirety of Hudson County as well. They create floral arrangements for many different events including weddings, funerals, birthdays and corporate events. 

If you would like to see what the shop has to offer before making the trip, on the Hudson Florist website, there are various designs to choose from for all occasions. Customers are also able to choose the price range, flower type, color and style, even being able to create their own custom arrangements.