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d
Valentine’s Day purchases help
boost revenue for businesses
Local businesses happily
await the boom the holiday
brings after a normally slow
January shopping period
By Beau Eastes
Freelance Reporter
For most couples, Valentine's Day
is a time to express love, but for
small business owners nationwide,
Cupid's return is a lifesaver.
"Valentine's Day is a rock," said
Mike West, whose MW Kitchens Inc.
owns and operates Mona Lizza Ris
torante & Bar, 3 Square Bar and
Grill, The Dive Bar and Grill, and
West Brothers River Ranch. "It does
n't move no matter what the econo
my is. The National Restaurant Asso
ciation says Valentine's and Mother's
Day are the busiest of the year for
restaurants, but I'd be willing to bet
for us it will this next Saturday."
Many small businesses eagerly
await Feb. 14 every year after slow
January sales.
"Fifteen percent of our yearly
business will be done in the two
days before Valentine's Day," said
Laura Betty, the manger at the Eu
phoria Chocolate Company on 17th
Avenue and Willamette Street. Grad
uation, Easter and Mother's Day are
all big for her business, but no holi
day is as critical as Valentine's Day,
Betty added.
"A tremendous amount of prepa
ration goes into the holiday," local
florist Pat Brooks said.
Brooks, whose family owns Eu
gene Flower Home, began setting up
the Valentine's Day store display im
mediately after New Year's.
"It's a busy week, especially to
take care of everyone like we want,"
she said. "We try to make every order
special, so quite a few extra hours go
into the holiday."
Along with the extra hours for her
employees, Brooks' store also dou
bles its delivery fleet from two to
four vehicles during the Valentine's
Day rush.
Jeweler Dave Belcher, co-owner of
Gold Conspiracy Jewelers, agrees.
"It's pretty big. We'll get a lot of
men shopping late on Friday and
even Saturday. The Christmas month
is our biggest event, and Mother's
Day is second, but Valentine's Day
Danielle Hickey Photo Editor
Eugene Flower Home owner Pat Brooks arranges flowers in preparation for Valentine’s Day.
isn't too far behind that."
The local luxury-travel industry is
also feeling the economic surge
from Valentine's Day.
"We're always looking forward to
February," said Abed Succar, owner
of Abed's Eugene Limousine Service.
"The whole week is a boom for us,
as people who want to beat the
weekend rush will do something
special before Saturday."
Ambrosia restaurant owner Armen
Kevrekian shares similar sentiments.
"We expect Thursday and Friday
to be busier nights than usual, along
with Saturday," he said. "People like
to beat the crowd."
Perhaps the only economic draw
back to this year's celebration of love
is that it falls on a Saturday.
"It robs from the weekend, but beg
gars can't be choosers," West said.
"Regardless, we're glad to see it coming."
Along with the economic shot in
the arm, West also noted that Valen
tine's Day is an excellent event to
market in-house.
"It's a great time to make an im
pression on people who we don't
normally see in our restaurants. Ide
ally, after their Valentine's Day expe
rience they'll become more occa
sional diners."
Kevrekian said the holiday's
theme is an added bonus to the eco
nomic upswing it brings.
"Its always a good time, being
around happy people on the holi
day," he said. "Of course, people
that feel good also like to spend
money."
Beau Eastes is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
Sweetheart
Gift Certificates
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They’ll love you for it!
$18 per hour for two.
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