SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Many San Diego business owners are hopeful they will soon be returning to some type of normalcy after California Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement about reopening some retail by Friday.
"This is perfect timing, couldn't be more perfect," said Hilary Bateman, who owns the Little House of Flowers on Friars Rd.
Her small flower shop located at 6090 Friars Rd. sits empty right now, but by Friday she hopes to be back in business for curbside pickups, just in time for Mother's Day, which is one of the busiest day of the year for the floral industry.
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"We're hoping to recoup of course financially a little bit for our loss in the last six weeks to stay in business," she said.
She said canceled weddings and large events have financially hurt flower shops like hers.
"For the health and safety of everyone we closed," she explained. "We’ve been able to do some no contact delivery, but sales are slow, we’re struggling."
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Newsom announced California will allow retailers like florists, clothing stores, sporting goods stores and book stores to reopen Friday with modifications and only for curbside pickups. He is expected to release clear guidelines on Thursday.
San Diego County Officials will decide how we move forward locally with the Friday timeline.
Bateman has taken this time while her shop is closed to develop safety plans for when the green light comes.
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"We'll go over line for line what we need to do to follow those guidelines," she said. "We have the hand sanitizers, we'll all be wearing masks, distancing."
If her shop reopens on Mother's Day weekend for curbside pickups, Bateman urges customers to pre-order online or over the phone to ensure the pickups run smoothly.
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Bateman said the business also offers no-contact delivery. She is expecting a large shipment of flowers to arrive Thursday in anticipation of the possibility of reopening.
"It was hard a few weeks ago to place that order because talk about a gamble," she said. "You’re spending thousands of dollars preordering flowers, what if you’re not able to reopen?"
For now, she hopes that her little shop will provide big smiles once again.
"We want to be there," she said. "We want to fill it with flowers and bring some joy to people during the holiday."
