Lynchburg profits from love

Good weather over the weekend holiday results in increased sales for shops

Characterized by blustery winds and blue skies, this year’s Valentine’s Day did everything but mirror the weather of Feb. 14 last year.

The business of local shops bloom by Doyle’s and CAO Artisan Chocolates were hindered last year due to the weather.

“Last year we had a snow storm, so that definitely affected the day,” Debbie Miller, owner of bloom by Doyle’s, said. “But my drivers ended up driving a lot of their own vehicles, which were four-wheel drive. So my big slogan was ‘Help us save Valentine’s Day.’”

Despite the bad weather, every single delivery, no matter where it was, was made last Valentine’s Day with the help of Miller’s friends.

“We did save Valentine’s Day, but it was affected in the sense that schools were closed,” Miller said. “A lot of our deliveries are at offices and schools and when you have a snow day, those things are closed. So this year, we’re rocking it and we’re so grateful. It’s cold, but it’s sunny and everything is open, so it’s a good day.”

Owner of CAO Artisan Chocolates Carl Macice said last year’s snow storm affected his business as well.

“The day before Valentine’s Day we almost did no business at all (because) it was such bad weather,” Macice said. “The general week, though, we did really (well). I think we did twice what we would normally do in a week.”

Both Miller and Macice expected better business this year as well as better weather.

According to Miller, bloom by Doyle’s sold approximately 300-400 flower arrangements this Valentine’s Day, while Macice says that CAO Artisan Chocolates probably sold a few hundred boxes of chocolates.

Both bloom by Doyle’s and CAO Artisan Chocolates sold Valentine’s Day classics such as roses and boxes of chocolate, but they also had signature items and special packaged deals available.

This year, bloom sold three ultimate packages made especially for Valentine’s Day. The names of the packages were Truly, Madly and Deeply.

Truly cost $85 and consisted of a dozen roses, a balloon and a stuffed bear. At $105, Madly contained everything that Truly did, plus an eight count of truffles. Deeply contained everything that Madly did, plus a soy candle, and cost $130.

CAO Artisan Chocolates sold fresh chocolate-covered strawberries, make-your-own s’mores and special truffles made especially for Valentine’s Day.

To accompany the chocolate-dipped fruits or the traditional box of chocolates, a bouquet of flowers usually does the trick in completing a Valentine’s Day package.

Miller said that the rose is always the most popular flower around Valentine’s Day. But bloom by Doyle’s works hard at getting a variety of different colored roses from which to choose.

“We work really hard at being a shop that does arrangements that look more garden picked and not so roundy moundy,” Miller said. “I used to live in California where you would have open carts and florists everywhere, and so we really try to be more of that kind of florist.”

According to Miller, the bloom by Doyle’s staff takes pride in the care they put into their flowers. Whether it is processing the flowers, changing their water, keeping food in them or monitoring the temperature they are stored in, Miller said bloom’s flowers are much healthier than ones that can be purchased at grocery stores.

Macice said CAO Artisan Chocolates has a new tasting box of chocolates, which allows customers to try four different squares of their nine unique flavors of chocolate.

“We make our own dark chocolate, so we have different chocolates made from different beans from farms around the world,” Macice said.
According to Macice, CAO Artisan Chocolates is set apart from other chocolate shops in the Lynchburg area because all of their
chocolates are made locally.

“Everything is fresh,” Macice said. “(Our chocolates are) made recently, they’ve not been shipped from somewhere and (don’t have) who knows what kind of preservatives in them.”

Macice said CAO Artisan Chocolates makes its chocolate with some of the best cocoa beans in the world.

“It’s all organic, fair-trade, so it’s good, ethical sourcing,” Macice said. “We’re just very, very, very picky about our ingredients, so everything is made from high-quality stuff that tastes very good.”

According to Miller, Valentine’s Day is not just about buying gifts for one another, though. Instead, it is about the thought and the message behind the gift.

“The rose has always been a symbol of love, and I think one thing I love is the message,”

Miller said. “You’d be amazed at some of the stuff (guys) put in the message, whether it’s a little poem or their little love language and terms of endearment.”

Macice thinks that giving chocolates as a gift for Valentine’s Day is special, because it is a gift that can be shared.

“If you’re just going and getting a peanut butter cup and sharing it, it’s not so special,” Macice said. “But to get a special truffle, if you’ve never tasted those flavors before, … and you’re kind of experiencing something together, then that’s very romantic.”

Miller said she enjoys seeing the different ways that people express their love through the giving of flowers.

“That’s probably one of my favorite things, just hearing how people love and how they express it,” Miller said. “And I would say let flowers be the messenger. You can send a card and write a note, but if it’s on a bouquet of flowers, that’s so much better than (in) a mail box.”

For more information on bloom by Doyle’s and CAO Artisan Chocolates, visit their websites at doylesflorist.com and caoartisanchocolates.com.

BUNNER is a feature reporter.