This is the first in a series about family based businesses that have survived wars, economic boom and bust, and population migration, relying in part on one founders’ credo: “A customer is a customer only for a short time. Then they become a friend.”

And, according to Russ Phillip of Riverside, his business is based on hard work and a family’s solidarity.

“We all put our shoulders to the wheel and work together,” he said.

Phillips Flowers began in 1923, when James Phillip and his wife, Helen, opened a small flower shop on 22nd Street and Cicero Avenue in Cicero. James Phillip was the son of immigrants from Alsace-Lorraine, and his wife was the daughter of immigrants from Bohemia, later to become a part of Czechoslovakia. The young man correctly chose a business destined to grow, having served as a delivery man for a florist and quickly learning the floral design business.

Russ Phillip, the youngest son of Jim and Helen Phillip, talked about the history of the store.

“Our first store was small. A heavy cloth curtain divided the retail shop and our living quarters.”

Despite the small beginnings, one of the store’s first customers was one of Chicago history’s most famous figures.

“Our first store was across the street from the headquarters of one of Chicago’s most infamous citizens, Alphonse Capone. One day my father took a bouquet of flowers across the street with the hope that this prosperous fellow would become the Phillip’s first customer. The prosperous fellow ran a restaurant, a burlesque parlor and a hotel.”

Told to sit on a chair, he sat. Men came in, they left. A steady stream of others went through the door to meet with “The Boss.” All day long he sat, holding that bouquet. “Capone” they said, “never closed the door at the end of the day to anyone waiting.” The young florist was finally given a nod.

“Dad offered the flowers to Capone, explaining that he had opened a shop across the street and would appreciate his business,” recalled his son. “Capone told Dad, ‘When we order flowers from you, the flowers come free.’ Courageously, Jim explained he had a family to feed, rent to pay and couldn’t afford to give flowers away, no matter who wanted them ‘free.’ A Capone lieutenant grabbed Dad, ready to do what Capone’s lieutenants were trained to do. Capone put his hand up and said, ‘Stop, this fellow is going to be my friend, and I am going to call him ‘The Kid.’”

Evidently Capone admired the florist’s bravery, a trait necessary in Capone’s own organization. The Kid enjoyed the patronage of the powerful Capone from that time on. Many funerals, weddings and social events were lushly decorated by Phillip’s Flowers.

The Phillip children, including JR (James Robert) and Loreley, grew up helping their parents out in the store, doing whatever they were able to do.

“The business continued to grow and the family moved to a building with the retail business on the first floor, a greenhouse in the backyard, and two floors of living space for our family above,” Russ said. “We moved to Riverside in 1939, the year I was born, because my parents needed room for the growing family.”

Like all members of the Phillip family, Russ has maintained a close connection with the family business. The Phillip family learned much as time rolled on, putting family first and working hard.

By 1948, the oldest son, JR, had graduated from Northwestern University and had opened a second store in La Grange Park. Business boomed.

One member of the Phillip family has had success outside the flower business. Loreley, known today as Lee Phillip, went on to become a TV personality with her husband, the late Bob Bell. She hosted a talk show from 1952 to 1986 and is co-creator of the soap operas “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.”

Today the company has stores in Lombard, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Oak Brook, Naperville, Westmont, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, La Grange and Countryside. Each of these locations includes a gift shop and covers about 3,000 square feet.

On an average day, Phillip’s Flowers prepares about 500 or more arrangements for delivery to 150 suburbs. The success of the business lies in the fact that the family has not been content to remain in the small store in Cicero, but now enjoys a network of 25,000 professional affiliate florists through its various Web sites and a toll-free phone line for services to customers around the world. The fleet of 40 trucks provides a strong network for marketing, and for another service, the maintenance of blooming flowers and green plants to various Chicago area office buildings.

Today JR, now vice chairman of Phillip’s Flowers, still arrives at 4 in the morning. Russ spends more than 60 hours a week in the company store, and Lee has become a member of the board of directors. The kids of the kids are fast filling positions in the family business, with an eye on the upcoming celebration of 100 years as one the best floral operations in the world.

Phillip’s Flowers operates multiple Web sites, including www.800FLORALS.COM. The company enjoys the designation as “preferred florist” for U.S. Navy personnel worldwide and holds similar contracts with the Army, Air Force and the Veterans’ Canteen Services.

Keeping a flower fresh and beautiful after it has been cut and keeping a business going for generations takes a special talent. Three generations of the Phillip family have worked side-by-side expanding what was once a tiny flower shop to one of the top full service floral operations ranked among the top 1 percent of North American florists for its computerized and worldwide floral delivery service.