DE PERE, Wis. (NBC26) — This Mother's Day will be the second people celebrate during the COVID-19 pandemic, but area business employees said this year looks a lot different than last May.
The smell of fresh chocolate and coffee filled the air at Seroogy's Chocolates Friday afternoon as customers filled the store to buy gifts for mom.
Marjorie Hitchcock, director of marketing for Seroogy's Chocolates, said Mother's Day is one of the busiest times of the year at the shop behind Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day.
Staff has been preparing for this upcoming weekend for about two months, stocking shelves and making delicious candies.
"We're still making chocolate right now for people that come in tomorrow and Sunday," Hitchcock said.
People couldn't go inside Seroogy's last Mother's Day due to COVID-19 restrictions. Despite that, Hitchcock said the store stayed busy. She said employees filled lots of online and pick-up orders.
Hitchcock predicts this Mother's Day will be even more busy.
"We did well last year, because I think people still wanted to remember their mother," Hitchcock said. "People ordered and picked up their orders, ordered on the phone, and had them sent by shopping earlier. But this has been a very good season."
Mary Lynn Bero, co-owner or De Pere Greenhouse & Floral, said the her flower shop has become more busy around Mother's Day than Valentine's Day
"Mother's Day has gotten to be all week, like 'Mother's Week,'" Bero said.
Employees put together floral arrangements on Friday. Some consisted of fragrant flowers, like lilies and roses. Customers purchased bouquets in the shop, as well as hanging baskets and combination pots in the greenhouse.
Like Seroogy's, Bero said the flower shop still had a good chunk of sales last Mother's Day with orders for curbside pickup.
"People could not see their loved ones, their mom," Bero said. "Flowers are such an expression of kind of like being there with them and extending that love feeling they have for their loved ones. Flowers always say it all."
Bero predicts a busier Mother's Day this year than in 2020. She said staff will be working long hours to ensure orders are met.
"Everybody just pitches in and we get the job done," Bero said.
Both businesses will be open this weekend for last minute Mother's Day shoppers.
