Businesses ready for Valentine’s Day

“We order hundreds of roses in, hundreds, because they’re still one of the biggest sellers,” she said on Thursday. “We add roses into lots of things because they’re a very symbolic flower of Valentine’s Day.”

Ruckaber says Christmas Day and Mother’s Day tend to be busier months for her shop, but Valentine’s Day is the single busiest day in terms of flower sales.

While Christmas and mother’s day are busier months for the store, Ruckaber says in terms of single days, Valentine’s Day remains the busiest for her shop.

“We have a lot of walk-in traffic, people and guys stopping after work, or on their lunch breaks, so the cooler’s full, we can always accommodate, and have you on your way,” she said.

Cupcakes get decorated at Redcliff Bakery – Photo by Bob Schneider

Over at Redcliff Bakery, staff have been hard at work for the past week, making sure the shelves remain stocked with cakes, cookies and cupcakes.

Melissa Graber, the owner of the bakery, says Valentine’s Day is also busy, both with advance orders and walk-up traffic.

She praised her staff for their work in the days leading up to Friday.

“Our bakers and our pastry chefs have been working around the clock the last few days leading up to this,” she said. “They’ve been starting at midnight getting ready, so it’s a busy week for us.”

Tim Schorno, the executive chef at the Medicine Hat Lodge, says the kitchen will be hopping not only Friday, but all weekend at the lodge’s restaurants.

“It’s always one of our busiest times of the year,” he said. “It fell on a Friday this year, so that’s kind of upped the game a bit for what we do, and it’s good.

“We’re mostly busy on Fridays to begin with, and this is just that day where people have more of an extra excuse to take people out for dinner.”

Tim Schorno, executive chef at the Medicine Hat Lodge, begins dinner prep Thursday afternoon – Photo by Charles Lefebvre

Schorno says in his experience, they deal with a lot of last-minute diners in addition to those who reserved tables in advance.

“Valentine’s Day often comes down to, a lot of people haven’t made that decision yet,” he said. “There’s probably a lot of boyfriends and husbands who are getting the slap right now because they haven’t made the reservations. So, I’d say sometimes, we’re about 60-40. We’ll start filling for reservations, but we always leave room for walk-ins as well.”

For everyone involved, Valentine’s Day remains a day to show someone how much you care, whether it’s going for dinner, grabbing dessert or buying flowers.

“I think everyone likes a good treat,” said Graber. “Whether it’s your kids or a loved one, anyone can love a cookie or a cupcake, it’s a great treat.”

“(Flowers) still say I love you, and for people for Valentine’s Day, sometimes they don’t send flowers all year long, so this is their one chance to get the flowers for somebody, their partner,” said Ruckaber.

by Charles Lefebvre

Businesses ready for Valentine’s Day

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