Tucked away in Providence’s West End, the Botanical Bar isn’t a business you typically stumble across. Getting to the speakeasy-style plant store requires some intentionality, with customers needing to buzz in and navigate through the converted mill complex where it resides.
But the business already had demand behind it when it opened its 55 Cromwell St. brick-and-mortar space in January, with co-owners Samantha Fontanez and Shalika Shoulders getting started at the Providence Flea.
“It was really just meant for fun, and a way to meet new people and share my plant passion with other people,” Fontanez recalled. “I did not expect it to get the response it did.”
Fontanez and Shoulders lived in Cambridge, Mass., and Brockton, Mass., at the time, and made the drive south to sell at the Flea, which they applied to “on a whim” after seeing a flyer, Fontanez said. As sales took off, both moved to the Ocean State.
“We did come for the plants, but we fell in love with the city for sure,” Fontanez said.
Fontanez and Shoulders also offer interior design and plant maintenance services for individuals and larger clients, such as hotels. And while the business is currently only a bar in name, the co-owners plan to eventually incorporate an actual bar into the business.