Celebrating 50 Years of Work, Family, and Enterprise

GourmetGiftBaskets.com Celebrates Trudy Abood's 50-Year Career

One woman's legacy of hard work, perseverance, and customer care helped inspire a family business spanning two generations.

When Trudy and David Abood bought Chalifour's Flowers in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1976, they knew almost nothing about the flower business. The shop wasn't part of a lifelong dream. It was simply the only business they could afford to buy.

With more determination than experience, the young couple learned the floral business on the job. To make the business purchase possible, they immediately sold the shop's delivery van. For months, David pedaled a 10-speed bicycle across Manchester delivering flowers while both he and Trudy worked tirelessly until they had earned enough to buy the van back.

Their willingness to embrace uncertainty, outwork the odds, and learn as they went became the foundation of a family business that, fifty years later, continues to thrive.

Celebrating 50 Years

What they built was far more than a successful neighborhood flower shop. Chalifour's Flowers became a place where generations of New Hampshire families celebrated weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, holidays, and life's most meaningful occasions through beautiful flowers, thoughtful gifts, and exceptional personal service.

Like many successful family businesses, each brought different strengths. David's creativity and Trudy's operational leadership complemented one another, creating a partnership that was greater than the sum of its parts.

While David focused on the creative side of the business, Trudy managed the countless details that come with owning a small business, from administration and customer service to the day-to-day operations that kept Chalifour's Flowers growing year after year.

Together, they built a business known not only for beautiful flowers, but for dependable service and genuine care for every customer.

Years later, that same flower shop became the birthplace of GourmetGiftBaskets.com. Working in the basement of Chalifour's Flowers, Ryan and Jeff Abood began assembling gourmet gift baskets for local customers.

Inspired by the success of those early creations, Ryan spent the following year building what would become GourmetGiftBaskets.com. The company officially launched in November 2002 with a vision of bringing handcrafted gifts to customers nationwide while preserving the same values his parents had established more than two decades earlier.

"Some of my earliest memories are of watching my parents do whatever it took to make that flower shop succeed. They sacrificed, they learned an entirely new business on the fly, and they never stopped putting customers first. My mother's work ethic, scrappiness, and genuine love for helping people shaped not only our family, but everything we've built at GourmetGiftBaskets.com. Celebrating her fifty-year career isn't just about honoring an incredible milestone. It's about recognizing the values that continue to guide us every single day." 

— Ryan Abood, President & CEO, GourmetGiftBaskets.com

Over five decades, Trudy has witnessed remarkable changes in the gifting industry, from handwritten order books and neighborhood flower deliveries to e-commerce, nationwide shipping, and millions of gifts delivered across America. Yet one thing has remained constant: helping people celebrate, comfort, encourage, and connect through thoughtful gifts.

"When David and I bought the flower shop, we simply hoped to build a good business and serve our community well. We never imagined it would grow into something our sons could build into a national company. The greatest reward has never been the growth. It's knowing that for fifty years we've had the privilege of helping people celebrate life's happiest moments, support each other during the hardest ones, and stay connected through meaningful gifts."

— Trudy Abood

Today, GourmetGiftBaskets.com operates from its headquarters in Exeter, New Hampshire, where it designs, creates, and ships gourmet gift baskets, baked goods, chocolates, fresh fruit gifts, handcrafted popcorn, and specialty foods to customers across the United States.

As Trudy celebrates fifty years since purchasing Chalifour's Flowers, the family is also reflecting on nearly twenty-five years of building GourmetGiftBaskets.com. It is a reminder that one generation's leap of faith created opportunities for the next.

Looking back, it's remarkable that the only business a young couple could afford to buy would one day inspire a nationally recognized gifting company. Yet for the Abood family, success has never been measured solely by growth. It has been measured by the relationships built, the moments celebrated, and the values passed from one generation to the next.

From flowers delivered by bicycle to millions of gifts delivered across America, Trudy Abood's fifty-year career is a testament to perseverance, entrepreneurship, and the enduring belief that every gift is an opportunity to make someone feel loved, appreciated, and remembered.