“Thanks for 54 years of service,” said the readerboard on Kitsap Way as it announced that Mark’s Flowers, a West Bremerton icon for more than half a century, will become a Flowers To Go.

The sale took place last month between Mark’s owner Doug Harader and Flowers To Go owners Bill and Rise Gross. The price and terms were not disclosed.

Mark’s Flowers was started by Mark and Dorothy Harader, who both worked for Irving Allen’s Forget-Me-Not Florists in downtown Bremerton in the mid-1940s.

The couple opened Mark’s Flowers in 1947 in Charleston, and later moved to the current location at the corner of Wycoff Avenue and Kitsap Way.

Doug Harader, 54, later took over the family business from his parents. He is now reportedly entertaining other career opportunities including some in the floral industry as well as other fields.

Most of the shop’s employees will remain, but a few have decided to explore other opportunities.

Flowers To Go, which began in a former drive-up photo kiosk in East Bremerton in 1982, will expand its payroll to a reported 38 employees with the acquisition. The purchase gives it five locations in Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo and Port Orchard, where it recently bought the former site of Best Burgers on the roundabout. The building is directly adjacent to its South Kitsap location and is currently being remodeled.