Few business owners offer an array of products and services that range from creating fresh floral displays to preparing traditional British fare such as Yorkshire pudding and purveying candy — lots of candy.
Meet Ryan and Alicia Racine, co-owners of Adorn Fine Flowers, Sugar Lu’s, and Sugar Lu’s, all of which are located along Main Street in downtown Northville. At first blush, running three different businesses would appear difficult to manage, but Alicia is quick to highlight the synergies of each enterprise.
“Right now we have a lot on our plates, but we’re always trying to bring something cool to downtown Northville,” she says. “Ryan and I love doing creative projects, and I was creating floral designs for a local event company and have been in the industry for 25 years.”
Taking the entrepreneurial plunge in September 2017, the designers by trade opened Adorn Fine Flowers to serve commercial and residential clients. As the business grew, the couple began offering
When the retailer next door, Chocolates by Renee, closed soon after the pandemic, the Racines purchased the enterprise and opened Sugar Lu’s in August 2020. “We didn’t intend to get into the candy business, but we were already doing sweets out of Adorn, so it was a natural extension,” Alicia says.
The sweet shop offers everything from hard-to-find soda pops to potato chips covered in milk chocolate, bubble gums, licorice sticks, suckers, taffies, Atomic Fire Balls, and more. During the summer, the staff often spins fresh flavors of cotton candy from tables set on the sidewalk.
Then, when a small café and catering business located directly across Main Street became available in May 2020, the Racines hatched upon the idea of opening a restaurant that was a mix between a Parisian café and a London-style pub. The name Toria was taken from Queen Victoria, who ruled over the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901.
“We renovated everything from the front door to the back door, and had planned to open in August 2020, but with all the supply and construction delays, we wound up opening in August 2021,” Ryan says. “It was really hard getting materials like shelving, and tradespeople were difficult to find.”
The space, which is adorned with Victorian accents, has 40 seats inside and an additional 18 seats on a seasonal patio set up on the sidewalk. Open for lunch, brunch, and dinner, the menu offers house compound butters, walnut fig bread, artisan cheeses, cured cold meats, roast rack of lamb, a Delmonico ribeye, scallops, miso black cod, and a variety of summer mushrooms.
“At the moment, we have our hands full,” Ryan says. “We’re not looking to open any new businesses, but you never know what might happen.”
