Valentine’s Day creates boost in local business
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(ABC 6 News) – According to Bankrate, it’s estimated people will spend an average of $192 on Valentine’s Day this year. From chocolate to flowers to dinner, you’re not only making the day special but you are also helping local businesses.
At Flowers by Jerry, workers say between Valentine’s Day and the day before, it’s non-stop business. The store starts prepping at least three months in advance. A surplus of flowers needs to be ordered to make sure there’s enough to go around which includes providing flowers for people planning ahead, shopping last-minute, and those who will need flowers after the holiday.
“We do our very best to make sure that we have enough flowers so if someone comes in at the end of Valentine’s Day, they still have a wide assortment to pick from,” said Lydia O’Connor, the marketing and events manager at Flowers by Jerry.
“But we don’t have much leftover.”
When the holiday falls on a weekday, O’Connor said it’s actually busier in the store with shoppers during the week rather than the weekend.
According to Bankrate, it's estimated people will spend an average of $192 on Valentine's Day this year. From chocolate to flowers to dinner, you're not only making the day special but you are also helping local businesses.
“Whenever Valentine’s is on a weekday, it’s way busier than when it’s on the weekend. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday when Valentine’s falls on one of those days is always chaotic. It’s a little bit weird because it’s almost like the calm until the storm. Until the day before Valentine’s.”
Over at Five West, it’s a similar story. Many people celebrated the holiday over the weekend. If you step inside Tuesday night, you might think it’s a Saturday.
“It’s nice that it’s on a Tuesday because we kind of got an influx of people in on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,” explained general manager, Shawna Refsland.
“Then on Tuesday, it will look more like a Saturday night with reservations with people coming out for Valentine’s Day.”
Five West will have additional staffing. Planning for the specialty Valentine’s Day menu starts about a month in advance. If you want to try the speciality cocktails and menu items, you have until Tuesday night.