Whether it’s vintage greeting cards or heart-shaped pizzas, Bloomington businesses are gearing up for Valentine’s Day.
Baked! Of Bloomington
The popular cookie store triples its sales on Valentine’s Day, employee Daniel Davila said. They will have in-shop workers and drivers come in every hour, Davila said, in order to handle the rush of orders from students’ parents and loved ones.
“We will probably have people in here at six or seven in the morning,” Davila said.
The store will sell heart-shaped cakes for $32.39 and will fill its display with cookies replicating sweetheart candies.
Davila said the shop's owner and some employees began making an abundance of red frosting and pastel icing on Monday to prepare for the cookies and cakes.
Davila said he expected phones to start ringing Monday morning with shipping requests from across the country. The store even received an order from Ireland last week, though they haven’t previously shipped internationally, Davila said.
Because Valentine’s Day is so busy, Davila said management splits all tips received throughout the day equally among the workers. They also expect Valentine's orders to keep coming in past the 14th.
Mother Bear’s Pizza
Store manager Travis Terrell said Mother Bear’s Pizza has been selling heart-shaped pizzas for at least six years.
The 14-inch pizza is only sold on Valentine’s Day and costs $14.
Terrell said Valentine’s Day wait times are normally around an hour, but he expects it to be longer because of the IU men's basketball game Wednesday.
Bloomington Bagel Company
Bloomington Bagel Company will sell a limited number of red, heart-shaped bagels and cookies, called sugar bombs, in stores Tuesday and Wednesday.
They expect to sell out of these fan favorites, employee Shayna Goodman said, so order online by the dozen to beat the rush.
The Book Corner
With over 25,000 books, owner Margaret Taylor said, this store has something for everyone, owner Margaret Taylor said. Children’s Valentine’s books including “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!” and “Click, Clack, Moo, I Love You!” sit next to stacks of poetry books on the store’s front desk.
Vintage Valentine’s cut-outs and pop-up greeting cards, a yearly staple, are showcased in stands near the front of the store.
Taylor said poems, cookbooks, travel books, journals and plush animals are always popular on Valentine’s Day.
In the 1960s, Taylor said, they would sell 100 copies of the book “Love is a Special Way of Feeling”.
Taylor said students purchased origami kits one year to save money on expensive flower arrangements.
Blu Boy Chocolate
The cafe and cakery is expecting a busy week of chocolate box orders, employee Nicole Mcpheet said. The store offers several Valentine’s chocolates including strawberries and champagne, white chocolate cognac, crème de cassis, raspberry rose and Love’s True Kiss, which is a cayenne and aleppo pepper blend. The shop also sells large chocolate hearts.
The chocolates are either hand-painted or hand-stamped with colored cocoa powder in Valentine’s Day colors, Mcpheet said.
Cup and Kettle
The tea shop had a Valentine’s Day afternoon tea on Sunday, but they are selling themed truffles, scones and teas throughout the week.
The specials are raspberry green tea truffles, chocolate cherry scones, and white rose and strawberry champagne teas.
The shop is also promoting gift cards for date nights.
