Six months ago Lisa Whitfield was gainfully employed at Indianola Insurance Agency. She’d been happy and content for more than three decades in the insurance world but in July of 2023 she was asked if she wanted to become owner of Petal Pushers. She stopped in and looked around and by September she had a new career path.
“I went home and talked to my husband (Randy) and on September 4, I took over the store. It was a quick transaction,” Whitfield said. “I asked them of all the people in Indianola, why me? They told me that I make the copycat Crumble cookies and I make salsa and pickles and jellies and jams and they told me I was actually already running a small business on the side. Why not make it official and bring it all to Petal Pushers?”
So, she did.
“We offer the same services they had – the gourmet food, the flower arrangements and the gift shop,” she said. “We added in the homemade items – homemade bread, pigs in a blanket, my jellies and jams, and just added to what they were already doing.”
With just about every flavor of jellies and jams imaginable, Whitfield has her mild, medium and hot salsa on the shelves as well. She picked up the canning side of the business when her relatives started aging and she didn’t want to miss out on their canning items and started learning herself.
“They would always give us canned items for Christmas and I knew they wouldn’t be able to do it forever,” she said. “In 2020, we bought a new house and it had a fig tree and I said to myself, ‘I might as well learn how to can.’”
So, she did. “I did fig preserves and started learning and absolutely love it.”
One of her other many talents is designing and creating t-shirt quilts. And that will be coming to Petal Pushers soon as well.
“I just did one for somebody for Christmas,” she said.
With three total employees, the same as before, Whitfield is working to figure out the parts of the business she didn’t have experience in.
“I am figuring out the flower end of the business as we speak. I knew nothing about flowers when I took over. I could not put an arrangement together but I have learned and am still learning.”
Her favorite part of the business has been seeing customers “and being able to meet their needs.”
With plans for grab-and-go lunches offered twice a week, Whitfield has added coffee with iced coffees and lattes. She also has added sausage balls, muffins and scones to the morning routine at Petal Pushers.
“We open at 7 a.m. and offer the breakfast items. I don’t have all three items every day but rotate them,” she said. Petal Pushers is open 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
After working in the insurance industry to make sure Sunflower County folks were fully covered and taken care of, Whitfield’s now enjoying insuring great food, canned items, flower arrangements and more for them as well. All at Petal Pushers, located at 304 Highway 82 East in Indianola.
