AMENIA — Creativity and enthusiasm are flourishing at The Little Flower Bar, which recently opened in Amenia and is now serving fresh floral arrangements alongside an array of gifts.
Owner Kelly Deneen keeps the flower bar stocked with seasonal, locally sourced blooms that can be arranged on site as grab-and-go bouquets or purchased as individual stems. A wide selection of gifts complements the floral offerings, making the shop a destination.
Since its soft opening Saturday, Nov. 29, at the 8 Old North Road plaza, Deneen said business has been steady, with a strong showing during the holiday season.
“It’s going to evolve,” Deneen said of the young enterprise.
The flower bar includes a wheeled, multi-shelf display of fresh-cut flowers. Deneen said the portable setup can be brought to hospitals, businesses or private events, where people can select individual stems to create their own arrangements or purchase flowers to go, making it an interactive and visually engaging feature.
A thriving new business in town, The Little Flower Bar created a fresh floral arrangement on the spot for Walter Irvine of Millbrook on Thursday, Jan. 8. Owner Kelly Deneen paused for a photo with the satisfied customer.Photo by Leila Hawken
Adding to the shop’s charm is a curated selection of affordable gifts, ranging from photo frames and wine glasses to themed trays for milestone occasions, as well as items for sports fans and holidays.
“Valentine’s Day is coming up next,” Deneen noted.
Flowers are offered by the stem, and arrangements can either be made for customers or created by customers themselves. Flower selections change weekly based on the season and availability from local gardens. During the winter months, flowers are sourced from area wholesalers.
“Carnations will always be on the bar,” Deneen said, “because most importantly they were my grandmother’s favorite, but also for their quiet beauty and long-lasting charm.”
Deneen grew up in Millerton and purchased her grandmother’s home following her death in 2021. Her grandmother had lived there since 1962, and her grandfather grew up on Belgo Road.
Before opening The Little Flower Bar, Deneen spent her career in the auto racing industry.
“I worked in the car racing industry my entire adult life. I started right here at Skip Barber Racing School when I was 21. In 2013, I moved to Indianapolis to work for Andretti Autosport. I spent the next 12 years in the IndyCar paddock,” summarizing her connections to the auto racing world and her experience in large-scale event planning.
A seasonal selection of fresh flowers will be offered at The Little Flower Bar, a new business at 8 Old North Road in Amenia combining creativity and small-town affordability to customers. Owner Kelly Deneen is poised to assist customers with arrangements to go, a varied selection of gifts, and event planning.Photo by Leila Hawken
Five years ago, she started working from home in Millerton, traveling to the races. That was when she nourished her love for flowers, purchasing flowers just to play with arranging.
“We have the best flower farmers right here in the Northwest Corner,” Deneen said.
“Every flower has a personality that can speak for you when words fall short,” Deneen said.
“This is so lovely, and that’s a man saying that,” said customer Walter Irvine of Millbrook on Thursday, Jan. 8, as he stopped in for a made-to-order custom floral arrangement. Irvine recalled that he and Deneen have known each other since the 1960s, having a common interest in the auto racing industry.
The Little Flower Bar is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m until 4 p.m. The phone is (845) 231-6341. For more information go to
The annual Millerton Fire Company Easter egg hunt returned to Eddie Collins Memorial Park on Saturday, April 4.
Tyler Dehoff discovers a piece of chocolate in a plastic egg at the zero to two-year-old egg hunt area.Nathan Miller
Families crowd into hay wagons for a parade down Main Street to the park before the egg hunt.Nathan Miller
Bob Stevens, right, enjoys the swinging sounds of country and western music during a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, with his son, Robert Stevens Jr., not pictured.
Stevens’s only son, 39-year-old Robert Stevens Jr., along with employees at the town garage and others in the community, remembered Stevens as a dedicated man with a singular passion for highway maintenance.
“It was an absolutely huge part of his life,” Robert said.
Robert Jr. said Stevens was as supportive as a father as he was dedicated to his work for the town. He recalled a week-long BMX biking trip to Camp Woodward in Pennsylvania that his father drove him to and from, making the round trip twice without a complaint.
“It didn’t matter how little or how far we were going,” Robert said. “If it was to support me, he was on. Always.”
Road crew foreman Shawn Morrison said that supportive nature extended to Stevens’s role as Highway Superintendent, where he prioritized the safety of workers and drivers above all else.
“He always said to me, ‘If you don’t feel safe doing it, then we’re not going to do it,’” Morrison said.
Morrison praised Stevens’s dedication to his post, saying he often worked long hours and weekends out of a love for the job. Winter was a favorite season, as Morrison said he was obsessive about clearing the town’s roads during snowstorms.
“A lot of people had nicknames out there for him — calling him ‘Bare-road Bob,’” Morrison said. “He was anal about his roads in the winter.”
Stevens rarely missed a day of work, for sickness or for pleasure, road crew employees and Town Supervisor Chris Kennan said. Joshua Schultz, a road crew member and Stevens’s godson, said he could remember one notable absence. “He took his son to Nashville,” Schultz said.
Photo providedBob Stevens, right, and his son, Robert Stevens Jr., pose for a photograph together. Robert remembered his father as a caring and supportive man following his death on Monday, March 30.Photo provided
Robert Jr. said he and his father traveled twice to Nashville, Tennessee — among the few trips they took together — but a third visit was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other travel opportunities often depended on Stevens’s work at the town garage. “If it was wintertime, he’s here,” Robert said. “He’s taking care of the town.”
Sickness didn’t keep Stevens at home either. Morrison said he would work from his well-known orange pickup truck to keep from spreading colds to people.
The orange pick-up truck was a fixture around town, Supervisor Chris Kennan said. Stevens was often spotted inspecting roads across town in the recognizable truck, when it wasn’t parked at the town garage while he worked in his office.
Kennan said the town will begin a search for a new Highway Superintendent, with a committee expected to form at the Thursday, April 9, Town board meeting. He also expects the board to install a plaque at the town garage on Route 22 honoring Stevens’s service.
Kennan proposed the plaque at a special meeting of the Town Board on April 1, saying a modest display would respect Stevens’s private nature.
“I’m excited that we’re going to put a plaque on that building,” Kennan said. “It’s appropriate that there be some reflection of what he put into it.”
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