www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 16, 2007 - 13 Cupid challenged by winter's wrath By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Cupid's aim proved to be hit or miss during the Valentine's Day snowstorm with some love-related businesses scoring during the bad weather while others struck out. Members of Oakville's floral industry report a large number of significant others appear to have gone without their Valentine's Day roses. "It definitely wasn't as busy as last year," said Grace Cheung, General Manager of The Flower Place. Besides seeing fewer customers in the store the bad road conditions also limited the amount of flower deliveries The Flower Place was able to complete. "Driving the smaller side streets, the drivers had a lot of problems," said Cheung. "Normally when people call with last minute orders for deliveries we generally are able to accommodate them," she said. "This year our delivery guys cut us off in terms of numbers. The morning of the 14th we were told not to take anymore deliveries." It was a similar story at Heaven Scent Flowers where the storm also hampered efforts to keep up with the demand for Valentine's Day flower deliveries. "Some of our drivers were not able to come here on time and because of the storm we were delayed already on the deliveries plus people who hadn't preordered were calling and we had to decline," said Julie Civitarese, store owner. "They were frustrated but what could I do? I have no control over the weather." Despite the delivery problems Civitarese feels the day went well. "It was good but we could have done better, because of the storm. We were busy in the store," she said. Belinda Rush, who owns Margo's Flower and Gift Shoppe, had a completely different problem that was brought on by the storm. "Our employees didn't come in, just the owners came in," she said. "We had a backup driver. My husband came in and everything that was ordered that day we got out." Overall Rush counts the day as better than expected though not as good as last year. However, she believes some would be Valentines may be trying to get out of the doghouse with a belated gift of flowers. "The phones are ringing this morning so maybe they're going to send them today," she said. "There's always that residual guy." Oakville's chocolate stores also felt the pinch of reduced sales on Valentine's Day. "The afternoon started picking up but because of the storm from the day before people were scared to get out and that morning people were snowed in completely so it affected sales quite a bit," said Lyle Bleich, of Chocolates By Bernard Callebaut. Last year Bleich said business was so good he had to have five employees present to handle the Valentine's Day rush but this year, with sales down 20 per cent, only Bleich and another employee worked. While some romantics seemed to feel their Valentines could do without flowers and chocolate very few were apparently willing to risk canceling the traditional Valentine's Day romantic dinner. The freezing temperatures and slippery roads were not enough to keep Oakville's upscale restaurants from filling up on the evening of the 14th. "It really wasn't bad. I was surprised," said Anita Sauve, General Manager of Oakville's Paradiso Restaurant. "We had a few cancellations, but people called in and we filled the spots. We were as full as I expected us to be had we not had a storm." With the storm just finishing at noon Sauve says lunch was a lot slower, but for the evening attendance was actually up from last year. The Seasons Restaurant also reported no storm-related drop in business for the evening. "Regardless of the weather we were still sold out," said George Couto. Like the Paradiso, the few spaces created by cancellations were almost immediately filled with Valentine's Day patrons. Stone Boats Restaurant also experienced stellar business Valentine's Day evening with owner Molly Abraham reporting the restaurant fully booked with tables double booked all night. Back at Chocolates By Bernard Callebaut, Lyle Beich is waiting for the weekend when he hopes a few late romantics will try and impress that special someone with a box of chocolate covered bliss. Truth or Dare Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you read. This article, of course, being the exception. If you had a penny for how many times you've heard, "that's the best price" you wouldn't have to worry about the cost of things, but you do. This being the case, I dare you to compare what you're paying for your car insurance to what the lowest price really is. InsuranceHotline InsuranceHotline.com's free search compares over 30 insurance company rates, instantly. On average, it could save you in the neighborhood of $780. 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