Local businesses prepare for Valentine’s Day

JACKSON, Tenn. — Local businesses prepare for Valentine’s Day.

Workers cut flowers at Sand’s Florist in Jackson on Monday. “Everybody is running at full speed,” Sand’s Florist owner Jerri Sue Maxwell said.

Maxwell said they start preparing for Valentine’s Day four to six weeks out. “This is like our Black Friday or Christmas,” she said.

Maxwell said they will have about 45 employees working Tuesday, nine times the normal amount. “People taking orders, people designing and then delivery,” she said.

Across the street at Shirley’s Bakery, decorators work to fill orders and get Valentine’s Day sweets out the door. “We have cakes, cookies,” Shirley’s Bakery owner Shirley Wernimont said. “Chocolate-dipped strawberries are the big thing this time of year.”

Wernimont said Valentine’s Day is their busiest day of the year. “It takes a lot of preparation to get everything done, but we’re trying to keep up,” she said.

Shirley’s Bakery said it tries to prepare extra goodies for last-minute shoppers. Sand’s Florist said if you haven’t ordered yet, there is hope. “We’re not going to be promising a delivery time tomorrow, but we will get that order out for you,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said Sand’s Florist customers prefer red roses. She said delivery flowers start at $25.

Both businesses will be open Tuesday.