Local florists brave arctic temperatures for Valentine's Day deliveries
Business is "blooming" for florists in Topeka as they fill delivery orders for Valentine's Day on Sunday. However, the bitter cold is complicating things.
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) - If the pandemic wasn't enough of an obstacle for small businesses, the bitter cold is complicating things even more; yet business is blooming for florists in Topeka as they continue to fulfill orders for Valentine's Day on Sunday.
Valentine's Day is an exciting time for people to express their affection for that special someone. It's a day Lori McNorton, owner of Blooms on Boswell in Central Topeka, is no stranger to.
"We always love it. I mean, you have to if you're going to do it," Lori said.
Despite the ups and downs of the pandemic, her store has been resilient.
"We've had a great year," Lori said. "I was kind of worries, with it being on Sunday, but...it's been a good year."
After a busy last few days, her worries went out the window.
"With it being on a Sunday, it seems like it's almost been like a four-day holiday because we really started Thursday," Lori said.
Along with those many orders came the challenges in facing the frigid cold weather outside to deliver the flowers to someone's valentine.
"You just adapt and overcome the obstacles that are presented," said Tom McNorton, Lori's husband who oversees the store's deliveries. "We've got a great delivery team."
The store had multiple groups out delivering over the last few days, all covering different areas of Topeka.
"It makes it a lot easier when you can group it and then just make a big circle," Tom said. "Pretty soon you're coming right back here and loading up and going again."
Due to the cold, they had to be extra cautious to ensure the flowers were in pristine condition.
"You have to take all the precautions to make sure that they're wrapped correctly, we don't leave them out in the car very long so we take a few shorter routes, don't take as many all at one time, we come back so that everything's nice and fresh," Lori said.
Despite the weather hurdle, taking those extra steps is worth it to the people in the floral business in making sure their flowers make it on time to that special someone.
"With the challenges comes great rewards because some people were not expecting flowers at all today or yesterday. So, brighten their day on a cold winter day," Tom said.