Local vendors prepare for influx of last minute Valentine's Day shoppers

WESTLAKE, Ohio - Local flower shops and restaurants cash in on Valentine's Day.

FlowerPort Shop Owner Vicki Wood says Valentine’s Day started six days ago for her staff.

“With Valentine's Day it's very busy, we have to start prepping up getting ready because they hit the door we have to have arrangements in our cooler ready to roll,” she explained.

Wood said she and her workers are inundated with online and telephone orders and the walk-ins that rarely cease. “We work late at night, it's a lot of long hours and hard work, but that's what we're here for,” she said.         

Wood's inspiration came from her mother who saw something special about flowers in her daughter’s hands. “When I was a young girl, I was 17 and my mother told me to go up to the flower shop at the corner and see if I could get a job there," said Wood. She said she determined to never quit and her mother's idea has paid off.

For many local businesses Valentine's Day is like the super bowl for most florists, they kick into high gear making sure those arrangements are ready to go out on time. It is also a shot in the arm for local restaurants like the 100 ^th Bomb Group.

“It brings quite a bit of revenue to our business people tend to spend more on that day this year we've seen even an increase in our reservations,” said Assistant General Manager Barb Borzym, "It is in the middle of the winter we always look forward to it.”

According to the National Restaurant Association Valentine's Day is the second most popular holiday to dine out next to Mother's day.

Borzym said they started celebrating Saturday night for folks who work during the week. She said the extra days are even better for business.

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