Usually the things people look forward to the most about Easter are family gatherings, church services, Easter egg hunts, those things can’t happen this year. But one thing you can get is flowers.
“It all just came down like a ton of bricks,” said Marcy Brandt, co-owner, Arnold’s Flower Shop.
Marcy Brandt got the news three weeks ago that she had to close her Dryden flower shop. But Saturday, she was able to reopen.
“It’s just a game-changer, it's kind of like we have our life back,” said Brandt.
Nonessential products, like flowers, can be sold with no contact delivery.
“People want their family members and their friends, everybody they care about to know they miss them, which is why I think we’ve just been inundated with requests,” said Brandt.
With just the two owners working, their reopening has gotten them more business than a typical Easter weekend.
“We are one small thing in this very dark and uneasy time that can bring people joy that can bring families together send messages and happiness without physically being in the same room,” said Anastacia Mosher-Arnold, co-owner, Arnold’s Flower Shop.
Without proms and graduations, sales are still expected to be tough.
“Graduation and commencement and all of those things a lot of small businesses especially florists depend on those. Without having those open and operating there’s going to be a lot of small businesses that lose business because of that,” said Mosher-Arnold.
Most flowers are flown internationally. Those flights aren’t happening right now.
“Also just being able to get flowers alone, you have farms in South America who are having to throw them out in multiple trailer truckloads because there's nobody to buy them,” said Mosher-Arnold.
With the flowers they do have, they’re delivering the joy of Easter.