Officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration recently visited in Reading, Berks County to honor its owner with the Eastern Pennsylvania Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award for 2024.
John Fleming, SBA Mid-Atlantic regional administrator, and Steve Dixel, SBA Eastern Pennsylvania district director, toured the shop at 12 N. 9th Street on Monday, May 20, and presented the award to owner Lourdes Peralta. The Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award winner is selected from among nominees located across the 40 counties of eastern Pennsylvania.
In April, Peralta and Sarai Variety Flower Shop was named as one of seven 2024 Small Business Week Award winners for the Eastern Pennsylvania District Office — and one of three businesses named from the tri-county area. “I want to thank the Small Business Administration for this prestigious award,” Peralta said in a statement. “Your recognition means the world to me and everyone involved in Sarai Variety Flower Shop.
It is a validation of the hard work, dedication and passion that we pour into the business every single day.” An immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Peralta opened Reading’s first Latina-owned flower shop in 2015 after spending 20 years as a floral designer in New York. Sarai Variety Flower Shop offers custom floral arrangements, event decorations, comprehensive floral subscriptions and gift services, same-day delivery and personalized consultations, according to its website, and plans to add a.