Family floristry since 1871 · Our shop since 1900 · Our name since 1958

The oldest continually operating florist in San Francisco.

Four generations, two Italian immigrant families, one city. Rossi & Rovetti Flowers has been designing and delivering flowers in San Francisco for more than 125 years — and we still answer the phone ourselves.

1871Family roots

1900Our shop opens

671Flower varieties

75+ yrsOur longest customers

Reach us

Phone: 415-543-4400
Email: info@flowerdeliverysf.pro
Recognition: Named San Francisco’s premier florist by Condé Nast Traveler

Hours

Monday – Friday: 6:00am – 2:00pm Pacific
Saturday, Sunday & US federal holidays: By appointment — yes, we deliver on weekends and holiday weekends (Mother’s Day, Valentine’s and more). Just call ahead.

No walk-in retail. On-site consultations for weddings, funerals and large events are available by appointment, and special delivery times can be arranged by phone.

Our story

A friendly rivalry, a few weddings, and a century of flowers

Our family’s floristry lineage has been a cornerstone of the San Francisco scene since 1871, and our own shop has carried it forward since 1900. It began with a friendly rivalry with Podesta Baldocchi Flowers, founded on January 30, 1871. Early on our families intertwined through marriage, uniting two venerable San Francisco florist families. Our shop, opened as Pelicano & Rossi on May 3, 1900, has been woven into the city’s fabric ever since — built on the profound ability of flowers to evoke emotion, celebrate pivotal moments and enrich daily life.

Our lineage

Two florist lines, one family

Our business is as old as Podesta & Baldocchi — 1871. Our shop opened as Pelicano & Rossi in 1900, began trading as Rossi & Rovetti in 1958, and made the name official in 1964.

See the full timeline · 1871 to todayHide the timeline

1871January 30
Podesta & Baldocchi opens

San Francisco’s original great florist house. Our business counts its years from this day.
1900May 3
Pelicano & Rossi, on the docks

Alfonso Pelicano, an Italian immigrant, and Angelo J. Rossi, born in California’s Gold Country to an Italian immigrant father, start selling bouquets on the waterfront — as Pelicano & Rossi from day one.
1902
Two families, one tree

Giuseppe Podesta marries Giovanna Rossi — the first of the marriages that join our families.
1915
The Liberty Bell float

When the real Liberty Bell tours the country and comes to San Francisco, Alfonso and Angelo build one of the largest moving floral floats of its day.
1917 – 1919
From the docks to a storefront

Angelo keeps the business going while Alfonso serves in World War I. After the war, the partners open their first real shop.
1931
Mayor Rossi

Angelo becomes Mayor of San Francisco, serving until 1944, while Alfonso runs the shop.
1930s – 1950s
One family, two shops

Pelicano and Rossi daughters and granddaughters marry into the Podesta and Baldocchi families, who come to own both shops. Vincent Rovetti marries into the family too (his wife a Rossi by name and a Baldocchi by birth), and only then is trusted to run both shops as general manager.
1958
Vincent marries in & buys in

Family by marriage for decades, Vincent steps in when the families plan to fold Pelicano & Rossi into Podesta & Baldocchi: he buys half the store, the families finance the other half, and our ads start calling it Rossi & Rovetti, keeping Mayor Rossi’s still-famous name beside his own. That same year, Hitchcock films Vertigo inside Podesta Baldocchi.
1964
Rossi & Rovetti, officially

Vincent pays off the families’ loan and owns the store outright, and the city of San Francisco records the new name. Pelicano & Rossi is now Rossi & Rovetti on paper, too.
1999
Staying independent

Both stores are sold to the national consolidator Gerald Stevens — and bought back to keep our floristry our own.

2001
Two stores become one

With Rossi & Rovetti and Podesta & Baldocchi now under one family owner, the two stores consolidate into one as dot-com rents soar.
2003
Still in the family

The business passes to the next generation of Vincent’s family.
2009
One name

The Podesta Baldocchi website folds into ours and the name retires — marketing two florists, even online, cost more than one.
Today
San Francisco’s premier florist

So named by Condé Nast Traveler — and we still answer the phone ourselves.

Alfonso Pelicano selling flowers in San Francisco, 1907 — Alfonso Pelicano selling flowers, 1907.

Angelo J. Rossi, Mayor of San Francisco, wearing a carnation in his lapel, about 1937 — Angelo J. Rossi, Mayor of San Francisco 1931–1944, about 1937. Photo: Harris & Ewing, Library of Congress (public domain).

1900 · The docks

From the waterfront to City Hall

Our story begins on San Francisco’s docks in May 1900, when two young Italian San Franciscans, Alfonso Pelicano, an immigrant, and Angelo J. Rossi, born in Volcano, California to an Italian immigrant father, began selling bouquets together as Pelicano & Rossi. Angelo kept the business going while Alfonso served in World War I, and after the war the partners moved off the docks and into their first real storefront.

Their venture thrived on a shared work ethic, vision, and an influential friendship with Mayor James Rolph. In 1931 Angelo succeeded Rolph as Mayor of San Francisco while Alfonso ran the shop, and Angelo’s tenure left a lasting mark on the city’s landscape, including the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Vintage Rossi & Rovetti flower delivery truck — The Rossi & Rovetti delivery truck.

1902 – 1964 · Two families, one name

Love and business intertwined

Giuseppe Podesta married Giovanna Rossi in 1902, and the daughters and granddaughters of Alfonso and Angelo went on to marry into the Podesta and Baldocchi families. By the 1950s those families owned both shops — Podesta & Baldocchi and Pelicano & Rossi — and one man ran them both: Vincent Rovetti. Vincent had married into the family (his wife a Rossi by name and a Baldocchi by birth) before he was ever trusted with the business, and he managed both shops for some 25 years. One family, unbroken since 1871.

When the families planned to fold Pelicano & Rossi into Podesta & Baldocchi, Vincent stepped in instead. In 1958 he bought half the store, with the families financing the other half, and began advertising it as Rossi & Rovetti — keeping the still-famous Rossi name beside his own. By 1964 he had paid off the loan, owned the store outright, and the new name was official, all while he continued to run Podesta & Baldocchi for the families, carrying both legacies into a new era.

Flowers from the Hitchcock era at the shop — Flowers, film and a famous family friend.

Hollywood · A family friend

Alfred Hitchcock’s personal florist

Our story is intertwined with cinematic history through our family friend Alfred Hitchcock, for whom we were the personal florist. That relationship solidified our reputation within the film industry, with our flowers featured in Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo, among others — cementing our small place in pop culture.

Postcard of the 1915 Liberty Bell float in San Francisco, decorated with flowers

1999 – 2009 · Staying independent

Flowers over floor space

In 1999 we briefly sold both stores to the startup Gerald Stevens Flowers, which aimed to consolidate independent florists nationwide. We quickly repurchased them to preserve the originality of our floristry.

Vincent’s family carried Rossi & Rovetti forward and brought Podesta & Baldocchi under the same roof. When dot-com rents soared in 2001, we consolidated into a single store rather than pay $33,800+ a month for 326 square feet in the Financial District and $26,700 for our South of Market store — choosing to keep investing in the finest, freshest blooms and in our award-winning designers. In 2003 the business passed to the next generation of Vincent’s family, and in 2009 we folded the Podesta Baldocchi website into ours and retired the name: marketing two florists, even online, simply cost more than one.

Every dollar our customers spend goes into the quality and value of the arrangement — not the rent.

An early version of the Rossi & Rovetti online ordering website

Today

Same values, new century

Today, acclaimed by Condé Nast Traveler as San Francisco’s premier florist, Rossi & Rovetti stands as a testament to our commitment to quality, creativity and service. Our family is natively rooted in San Francisco since the 1870s, and we serve the whole Bay Area and beyond.

Flower shortages during and after the pandemic revealed a need among cherished clients who had relocated — some to Austin, Texas — and missed the quality they had come to expect from us, so we extended our family’s passion for floral artistry to serve them there. Some of our customers have been with us for over 75 years.

Whether you visit us virtually, explore our online gallery, or receive one of our Italian-style arrangements, you are part of a tradition that has celebrated the beauty and emotive power of flowers since 1871.

In the press

See us at work

Rossi & Rovetti Flowers

Our yearly press on Valentine’s week

Featured on KRON 4

Where we deliver

All of San Francisco, every hospital, and beyond

We’re located in the heart of San Francisco next to the Financial District, SOMA, Mission Bay, Oracle Park and China Basin, with same-day delivery across the city — and real-time online delivery confirmation. Flowers can also be sent from our San Francisco facility to any other US address through a partnering florist; you get that option when you order online. Anniversary arrangements, birthday florals and roses are local favorites.

San Francisco neighborhoods we serve

Union Square, Alamo Square, the Financial District (FiDi), Anza Vista, Ashbury Heights, Balboa Park, Balboa Terrace, Bayview (Hunter’s Point), Belden Place, Bernal Heights, Buena Vista, Butchertown, the Castro, Church Street, Cathedral Hill, Cayuga Terrace, China Basin, Chinatown, Civic Center, Clarendon Heights, Cole Valley, Corona Heights, Cow Hollow, the Design District, Diamond Heights, the Dogpatch, Dolores Heights, Duboce Triangle, Embarcadero, Eureka Valley, Excelsior, Fillmore, Fisherman’s Wharf, Forest Hill & Forest Knolls, Glen Park, Golden Gate Heights, Haight-Ashbury, Hayes Valley, India Basin, Ingleside, Inner Sunset, Irish Hill, Jackson Square, Japantown (and Geary), Jordan Park, Laguna Honda, Lake Street, Lakeside, Lakeshore, Laurel Heights, Lincoln Manor, Little Hollywood, Little Russia, Little Saigon, Lone Mountain, Lower Haight, Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, Marina District, Lake Merced including Parkmerced, Merced Heights and Merced Manor, Midtown Terrace, Miraloma Park, South Park, the Mission District / Mission Dolores, Mission Bay, Mission Terrace, Monterey Heights, Mount Davidson, Noe Valley, NoPA (North of Panhandle), North Beach, Oceanview, Parkside, Parnassus, Polk Gulch, Portola, Potrero Hill, the Presidio and Presidio Heights, Richmond District, Rincon Hill, Russian Hill, Saint Francis Wood, Sea Cliff, Sherwood Forest, Silver Terrace, South Beach, South End, South of Market, Sunnyside, the Sunset (Inner and Outer), Telegraph Hill, Tenderloin, Treasure Island, Twin Peaks, University Mound, Upper Market, Visitacion Valley, Vista del Mar, West Portal, Western Addition, Westwood Highlands, Westwood Park and Yerba Buena.

Hospitals we deliver to daily

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, St. Francis Memorial, UCSF Medical Center, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, CPMC (Van Ness, Bernal Campus, California Maternity and their other campuses), the Chinese Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, the San Francisco VA Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center, UCSF Langley Porter Psychiatric, CPMC Davies, Sutter, Laguna Honda and more.

we ♥ our clients

The oldest continually operating florist in San Francisco.

A friendly rivalry, a few weddings, and a century of flowers

Two florist lines, one family

Podesta & Baldocchi opens

Pelicano & Rossi, on the docks

Two families, one tree

The Liberty Bell float

From the docks to a storefront

Mayor Rossi

One family, two shops

Vincent marries in & buys in

Rossi & Rovetti, officially

Staying independent

Two stores become one

Still in the family

One name

San Francisco’s premier florist