History

Koehler and Dramm was founded in 1955 in a partnership between Leonard C. Koehler and Eugene R. Dramm. At the time, Koehler was a General Manager of a Chicago wholesale florist company and Dramm was President of Dramm Roses, Inc., a rose grower in Elmhurst, Illinois. They combined efforts to form a new wholesale floral company: Koehler and Dramm. Originally based in Chicago, Koehler and Dramm primarily sold fresh cut flowers to retail florists throughout Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

From these roots, the company branched out to Minnesota, our current home and base of operations since 1976. The first building we occupied in Minneapolis was on Broadway Avenue, a few blocks away from our current site. We moved to the present Hennepin Avenue location in 1990, with a total square footage of 40,000 square feet and 1,000 square feet solely dedicated to refrigeration. Our total warehouse area was expanded in 1994 to reach 65,000 square feet, including 10,000 square feet of refrigeration. Today, our total cooler capacity totals 16,000 square feet! This is more refrigeration than any other wholesale florist in the Upper Midwest, which allows us to preserve the cold chain and supply our customers with the largest variety of fresh cut flowers and greens. The remaining warehouse area is primarily dedicated to housing the largest selection of basic and novelty hardgoods in the Upper Midwest, and is also home to the Plant Department, which carries over 200 varieties of green and blooming plants throughout the year, and the Design Department, which specializes in premade bouquets and arrangements, plus custom contract event work for our customers. K&D is also home to the Institute of Floristry (KDIOF), a licensed learning institution and certified AIFD pathway floral design school.

Over time, change also occurred in the ownership of Koehler and Dramm. The company remained in the Dramm family for many years beginning with Eugene, who handed the business down to his son, John, who in turn gave the company to his son, Rick. In 1998, Rick Dramm decided to sell the business to a national company, but it wasn’t long before employees of Koehler and Dramm bought it back in 2001. We are proud to say that it has been employee-owned ever since! Under the leadership of current president and CEO, Lee Spence, Koehler and Dramm employs over 100 people. The staff of highly qualified managers and personnel work relentlessly in an ongoing pursuit of providing the best products, service, and education to our customers.