THE VOICE NEWSPAPER REVIEWS OLDEST FAMILY FLORAL BUSINESS IN KENTUCKY

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Jul 22, 2010

Nanz & Kraft wins Best of Louisville for the 15th time!

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Oct 29, 2009

Annual Christmas Open House to benefit Susan G Komen

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Jul 24, 2009

Monarch Photography and Nanz & Kraft Florists partner up for their wedding brochure

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May 7, 2009

ILiveInLouisville.com

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Mar 6, 2009

Louisville Home, Garden, & Remodeling Show

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Feb 12, 2009

‘Flower Hour’ to include Valentine’s shopping, bourbon tastings & sneak peek of Gallopalooza horses

 

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Jul 17, 2008 -

As youngsters Eddie, Michale and David Kraft used to run around their family’s floral

shop squirting each other with water

pistols disguised as flowers. Today, they are carrying on a family business started five

generations ago in 1850 as partners of St. Matthews-based

Nanz & Kraft Florists.

Though they have branched out with stores on  Brownsboro Road and Dixie Highway, the

Kraft brothers now occupy offices in the Breckenridge Road

location where they had their first jobs as kids helping with

flower deliveries, sweeping floors and well, wreaking the kind

of havoc boys know best.

“I can’t tell you all of it,” Eddie Kraft said of the mischief

he and his brothers caused as kids.

It was enough to make their father, Edward Ramsey

Kraft, admittedly a little nervous when he took his boys

under his wing and showed them the ropes. Ramsey Kraft,

who retired a year and a half ago, said he couldn’t be more

proud of the way his sons have carried on his customer-first

mentality.

All three brothers said they learned the importance of

customer service from their dad, who learned it from his

father. Playing off the customer is always right mantra, Eddie

recently had some buttons for his employees to wear that say

“Yes we can.”

The word no isn’t part of the Nanz & Kraft vocabulary,

explained Eddie, who handles advertising and oversees the

branch stores, greenhouse and gift shop.

Through various moves – the original business was started

downtown near where Spalding University is now – and

industry changes, customer service has been the thing the

Kraft family has prided itself in. The Krafts trace back to

the German immigrant who founded the business by marriage.

Harry Kraft Jr., the Kraft brothers great-great grandfather,

married the daughter of Henry Nanz’s son and became

a business partner. The rest has been a century-and-a-half

of family history. The Kraft name was incorporated into the

business’s moniker in 1958.

“You do feel the pressure,” Eddie Kraft said. “You don’t

want to be the one to drop the ball. You want to see it go to

the next generation.”

Grandpa Kraft is already scouting out that next generation,

which ranges in age from 2-and-a-half to 12. He said he

recently had a heart-to-heart with all six grandchildren and

told them he’d like to see someone carry on the flame.

David Kraft, the youngest of the three brothers at 38, said working in the family business means he gets to see his family

more than he would otherwise.

“It’s great,” said David, who oversees the company’s extensive

Internet operation. “I get to see my family every day.”

On the flip-side, it also means working through differences

and scheduling time to be together as a family without

talking business.

“Sometimes we have to force ourselves to have meetings,”

Eddie Kraft said.

Michael Kraft, who handles purchasing and oversees the

design center, said having three owners, each focusing on a

specific area, streamlines business. Each brother brings a different

level of expertise and skill set to the table, Michael

noted.

That they all share the same last name that customers

have come to know and trust for generations is an added

bonus, Michael Kraft said.

“You get to see people who have asked for my grandfather

and asked for my father now ask for us,” he said.

You could say Michael and his brothers have come a long

way without going very far.