Vintage Beallsville building gets new life as Fairway Florals

By Dave Zuchowski

An unassuming building at the crest of Beallsville Hill seems to have had quite a past.

As far as the current owner, Chris Vankirk of Scenery Hill, knows, the nearly 100-year-old structure started as a cafe and gas station called the Nemacolin Inn. Through the years, it also served as an Amoco station and a hoagie and pizza shop. For the past 20 years or so, it stood vacant until Vankirk bought it in September 2023.

Flashback to several years ago when Vankirk’s wife, Nancy, retired after teaching school for 31 years. Chris saw that she was getting bored with retirement and didn’t want her just to sit around on the couch wasting away.

Knowing his wife had been arranging flowers since the age of 16, that she made her own prom bouquet and flowers for school and even taught floral arranging as an art activity in the after-school program, an idea popped into his head, “When I suggested she try her hand at professional floral design, the sparkle in her eyes told me she truly embraced the idea,” Chris said.

Courtesy of Fairway Florals

This 2022 Christmas display shows just how detailed Nancy Vankirk is with her decor and offerings.

Two years ago, he rented a small building in Richeyville across from the GetGo on Route 40 and called it the Little Shop Around the Corner. In the small, 700-square-foot space, Nancy began making silk flower arrangements. When the shop opened a week before Christmas in 2021, she sold out of her inventory in seven days.

“That’s when I knew there was a market for what I do,” she said.

Soon, people started to ask for live flower arrangements in addition to her silk product. To hone her skills, she attended classes at the Pennsylvania Floral Academy in Pittsburgh, where she received a certificate in 2022. When Chris’s brother got married in the Poconos that same year, she made her first live wedding arrangements. “It proved to be a huge success,” she said.

For Valentine’s Day last year, she sold roses at a time when she didn’t have a cooler in her shop. Fortunately, the temperatures outside were low, and she sold 400 roses in a single day.

By Valentine’s Day the following year, she’d purchased a cooler from a florist in Greensburg, and her inventory grew to include gift items and jewelry she bought from different companies and vendors.

“Some of the jewelry is handmade and one-of-a-kind,” Nancy said.

As the business grew, Chris began looking for a larger space. He drove around looking for something more suitable to satisfy the needs of Nancy’s growing clientele. Then, he found a long-vacant building nestled up against the last fairway and green of Nemacolin Country Club along Route 40 in Beallsville.

“It’s a great location for a flower shop with a great view of the lush green foliage,” Chris said. “I must have driven by it a thousand times but didn’t notice how beautiful it is until I looked out back.”

When it came time to name the 80-by-60-foot shop with a view of the golf course, the couple settled on Fairway Florals. When it opened in September, it had Nancy’s uncle’s golf clubs mounted over the entranceway, along with the first of many golf balls she found on the property.

Famous for her roses and twofers, arrangements set in a reusable mug or wreaths and wind chime combos, Nancy offers discounts to teachers, military and first responders. She said she has a one-stop shop where patrons can order flower arrangements, greeting cards and gift ideas for babies, birthdays and other gift baskets.

“I can work around people’s budgets and give them customized products,” Nancy added.

Richeyville resident Susan Stiner said she found Nancy on Facebook and has been very impressed with her arrangements. “I’ve been a regular ever since my first purchase,” she said. “Compared to other floral shops, she’s affordable, reasonable and turns out a beautiful product.” jtennant@observer-reporter.com

In a gorgeous back room with a view of the outdoors, Nancy offers classes on live arrangements and everything from bird cages, Christmas lanterns and vintage sled and ice skate decorations to the wreath, gnome, pumpkin topiary and witch hat classes.

The classes range in price from $10 to $125, which includes lunch. Those 80 years and older get a discount, and children get half off on the class fee. The two-hour-long classes are offered on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Because Nancy is an ordained wedding officiate, she can marry couples, and the shop’s conference room can be used for wedding consultations as well as for catered business meetings, ladies’ club meetings and families planning funeral arrangements.

“Considering the view in the back of the shop and the fact that Nancy can marry people and arrange for the flower needs of her clients, we’re planning on constructing a new event venue that can hold up to 300 people,” Chris said.

After Chris finishes the design work on the new facility, construction should start sometime in the spring of 2024. In addition to providing a space for weddings, the new venue will be able to host parties, banquets and other events and provide for requested services such as catering, music, photography, set up and tear down and, of course, flowers. For further information, phone 724-288-6721.