Don’t worry, KC lovers: Local florists ‘well prepared’ for V-Day deliveries as snow looms
Kansas City florists already busy with Valentine’s Day orders must now also plan around this week’s winter storm.
But despite the tricky timing, local florists say they’re prepared to follow up Mother Nature’s winter weather with a visit from Cupid later this week.
A winter storm warning is in effect from midnight Tuesday through 9 p.m. Wednesday. Between 4 and 8 inches of snow is expected across much of the Kansas City forecast area. Freezing rain, which could coat some areas in a light glaze of ice, is also possible.
Despite that, Rebecca Ederer, owner of Beco Flowers at 408 E. 19th St., said her employees are working as long as they can Tuesday to get a head start on Thursday and Friday deliveries. On Monday, they stopped taking deliveries for Wednesday and moved them to either Tuesday, Thursday or Friday.
“We’re already ahead enough with all the orders, we may not even need to come in tomorrow, so I don’t have to worry about anybody having to drive in the snow, because if it’s like it was last time, I don’t wanna have to do that,” Ederer said.
Sarah Burch, owner of Ever Wild Florals at 909 Walnut St. said after last Valentine’s Day falling on the same day as the Chief’s victory parade, this winter storm feels like nothing. Most of their holiday orders are scheduled for Friday, with some Thursday, so they don’t expect delays.
“We are well prepared, have extra staff and extra drivers. We’ll just give less deliveries to each driver so that if it takes them longer on the road they can still get everything delivered by five, which we guarantee to all customers,” Burch said. .
This will be Ederer’s 30th Valentine’s Day as a florist. She said Tuesday she’s very seasoned when it comes to the chaos that comes with Valentine’s Day, and is not concerned about their ability to make deliveries. She did say that they will coordinate with recipients so the flowers don’t freeze — which can happen in as little as 20 minutes.
“We’ll wrap everything and have it boxed so it’s as as safe as possible and we’ll have to reach out to each recipient and make sure that they are either home or someone’s gonna be home in the next 10 minutes,” Ederer said. “... It’s logistically kind of a nightmare for florists, but we’re used to it.”
The Kansas City Public Works Department began laying salt down on city roads Monday, 36 hours ahead of the expected storm, Mayor Quinton Lucas and City Manager Brian Platt said at a Monday news conference.
The NWS said Monday that the snow is expected to make road conditions deteriorate, making travel “very difficult” Wednesday and Thursday. At Monday’s conference, Platt and Lucas urged residents to stay home if possible Wednesday, or consider delaying their commutes.
“Stay off the road as much as you possibly can,” Platt said.
Reporting from The Star’s Ilana Arougheti and Robert Cronkleton were used in this story.
