Flower shop in West Texas gears up for one of the busiest times of the year

SAN ANGELO, Texas. San Angelo’s oldest florist, Bouquets Unique Florist, has been in business since 1902. Every year for Valentine’s Day, a large number of bouquets are sold.

“We start coming, you know, at seven in the morning and stay here until at least seven in the evening. But the days are getting longer and longer, so we’re here until 10pm. As we get closer, sometimes even before midnight. So, yeah, we sort of live here. So we have breakfast, lunch and dinner here,” said Bouquets Unique Florist owner Becky Peña.

The store orders a large number of flowers, it is difficult to keep track.

“I don’t even think I would like to know the number of stems, there are a lot of them,” Peña said.

The store is ready in a few weeks. By Valentine’s Day alone, the store hired four designers and seven more drivers. Planning begins even before other holidays.

“Before Christmas. So I have to start thinking about Valentine’s Day while I’m still thinking about Christmas. So for me, all the holidays overlap,” Peña said.

Supply chain issues were a problem getting certain items before the big day.

“Things like glass vases were difficult, especially clear glass was hard to come by. So, you know, we saw that it was kind of a problem,” Peña said.

Orders began to arrive in early January, but not all.

“Unfortunately, most of them wait until the 13th or 14th to come and pick up the flowers,” Peña said.

Becky keeps track of what is popular and in demand.

“On Valentine’s Day. The classic red rose is always the most popular flower on sale,” Peña said.

Last year, the store sold about 500 bouquets. This year, the number of pre-orders for them is in the hundreds.