Diana Baye jokes that she and her sister Breana Pettiford bought Vault + Vine (3507 Midvale Ave.) by accident. Both of them, tired of working for others, had been dreaming about new ventures when Breana stumbled across a sale listing for a greenhouse and cafe.
“I was 97% sure I knew exactly what that for-sale business was,” says Diana, laughing. She’d been coming with her family to Vault + Vine since founder Peicha Chang transformed her Falls Flowers venture into the plant store-meets-coffee shop-meets-artisan craft hub on Midvale Avenue in 2017. Diana had sipped steamers with the kids after school in the cafe, worked on her laptop in the greenhouse, and even taught Zumbini–a parent-child bonding class–in the upstairs space.
“When I found out Peicha was going to sell or close, I couldn’t let it close,” says Diana. “My sister and I just said, ‘How do we get it?’ We had no plans, we had no real money saved for this, we had nothing.” Nothing, that is, except for a drive to keep the neighborhood gem alive.
And so they called attorneys, sat down with accountants, built business plans… and closed on the business in June of 2022.
The sisters have been making small, deliberate changes over the past year and a half. They’ve expanded the cafe menu; added new, locally sourced items to the shop; and extended store hours. They’ve even converted the second floor into a space for customers to enjoy their drinks, snacks, and one another. The room is complete with a chalkboard, toys, and bookshelf with titles suited for Vault + Vine’s littlest patrons.
“Part of the reason I didn’t want it to close was I already loved what it was; we wanted to keep it Vault + Vine,” says Diana. “It’s not a place—it’s a feeling. Everything we do, even when we make changes, has to be in line with keeping that feeling. You feel good when you walk in here.”
The community’s appreciation is evident–on any given day you’ll find folks chatting with neighbors over coffee, attending workshops, and picking out the perfect Philodendron. “I am thankful for every single person who walks in that door,” says Diana.
“Every day is a new adventure—as soon as I think I have it figured out, something new comes up. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Diana says. “I often say we’re here by accident,” she adds with a smile. “But maybe it’s fate.”
