MEET YOUR MERCHANT: Talents combine in family business

For years, Michael Faiss moved from city to city with his wife Kandy, a professional florist, and son Khristopher, opening Italian restaurants from Beverly Hills, Calif., to Biloxi, Miss.

But after settling in Carson City about 10 years ago, the husband and wife team - married 28 years -now runs a four-year-old business, Floral Vineyard & Khristopher's Cafe, on Topsy Lane.

They offer Italian food and floral arrangements, which Kandy makes and lines up next to the kitchen entrance before delivering them to customers. She said her husband, who runs the restaurant side of the business, make all sauces to order.

Both of them started in their respective trades when they were teenagers, Michael learning how to cook at age 13 at a Lake Tahoe ski resort.

Kandy Faiss said she decided to enter the world of floral design at 17 because, "I thought it would be an easy job. Little did I know, it's hard work. It's a lot of prepping the flowers because if you don't prep them right they don't last."

Her career led her to do floral design work for entertainers, including Kelsey Grammer and Roseanne Barr, as well as weddings in Beverly Hills.

Today her customers are locals, many looking for a professional to decorate their home.

Their restaurant has a loyal clientele, too, Kandy said.

"Most men think it's a woman's hangout, but it's not," Faiss said. "The portions are big enough for men so they end up dragging their friends in, and there's been some afternoons when it's just guys in here."

Her favorite dish is the tortellini buongustaio, filled with prosciutto, mushrooms and roma tomatoes, which are folded into a Parmesan cream sauce.

Running the business also amounts to a lifestyle - the Faisses work six 13-hour-or-more days every week.

"The biggest challenge right now is the economy, because if the economy was better we'd have more flexibility and we'd be able to take more days off," Faiss said.

But that's a part of running a small business, she said.

Regardless of the work, Kandy said there are perks.

"I open the refrigerator and I tell him what I want," she said with a smile.

Floral Vineyard & Kristopher's Cafe

Where: 963 Topsy Lane (near In N' Out)

Contact: 775-882-3333

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 7:30 a.m.- 9 p.m.