River Oaks’ Buzzy New Flower Shop is an Instagram Playland Sprung to Life

Event planner extraordinaire Todd Fiscus’ Houston incarnation of his Dallas Avant Garden wasn’t set to open in River Oaks District until last Tuesday. But the day before, shoppers were knocking on the door in hopes of getting their hands on the coveted flowers and decorative bibelots that have hurtled Dallas’ social mavens on giddy shopping sprees for the past 15 years.

Little did they know that Fiscus was taking the allure one step further by adding to his Avant Garden Houston repertoire what are sure to be two of the city’s coolest Instagram-worthy backdrops, the dazzling “Bringing Down the House” and the beautifully whimsical “Flower Rain.” The immersive experiences which have been created in partnership with Motus Red Photo Booth are already creating an Instagram stir.

“Our goal was to put something in that was innovative and fun and  different and allowed some experiences,” Fiscus tells PaperCity. “So one is ‘Flower Rain,’ which is about Avant Garden and ‘Bring the House Down’ is about Todd Events. It’s like we throw a party so good you can tear everything out of the ceiling and the other one is about immersing yourself in a flower moment.”

The Instagram delights are free and open to all in the shop that welcomes visitors seven days a week.

Indeed, the flower shower is irresistible. Love, love, love! So colorful and delightful. And the hipster in all of us will swoon over the hollow disco ball set surrounded by chandeliers that have “crashed” to the floor. Glitter, glitz, dazzle.

Already a hit with society cognoscenti, Avant Garden Houston, tucked into the former Forty Five Ten space across the patio from Toulouse restaurant, saw most of its holiday decor gone by the end of the day on that inaugural Tuesday. And, of course, the coveted hand-painted “pumpkins” were a complete sellout.

This sister shop to Dallas is a jewel box brimming with armloads of opulent fresh flowers, orchid plants, contemporary terrariums, divine treasure troves of home and gift items, and holiday goodies. (Yes, they have been restocked.) There are fresh flowers everywhere. Flowers for take-out and flowers for delivery six days a week. With all of this, you can’t help but want to spend the day in the posh surroundings.

While Fiscus’ Dallas shop is 1,700 square feet, the Houston space is 3,700, far more than he needs. Thus, the immersive experience areas and the bonus — Todd Events has moved headquarters from a south Houston warehouse to Avant Garden.

As Fiscus points out, the offices are behind the “wizard of Oz” green velvet curtains in the back corner of the shop.

The extra space has allowed for the addition of a fine pastry component through a partnership with Becca Cakes, which has beautiful cakes and cookies on display throughout the week and a full array of luxe pastry offerings Wednesday through the weekend.

“We did it because we wanted a really beautiful add on,” Fiscus explains. “So if you were sending somebody flowers for their birthday, you could also send them this gorgeous little birthday cake. So you could send a $75 flower arrangement and a $28 cake and have a pretty $100 gift.”

Fiscus is not calling this venture a pop-up as he and River Oaks District hope to make it a permanent arrangement. “We call it a test store. If it sticks and Houston loves us as much as we would like to be in Houston” and if  a certain profitability is achieved, Avant Garden Houston could enjoy a happy, long run.

“It’s been a great overall experience for us so far,” Fiscus says. “And if it hadn’t been for the storm rains closing River Oaks District, the first week would have been phenomenal.”

Avant Garden (not to be confused with Houston’s Avant Garden bar in Montrose) is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 am to 8 pm, and Sundays, 11 am to 7 pm. 713-520-0959.