The notecards in the bouquets from a Chicago florist all have similar messages: “I’m looking forward to celebrating personally.”
“The notes are not sad,” said Kate Prince, co-owner of Flora Chicago in the northern part of the city. “They have hope.”
On this Valentine’s Day, Americans are looking for ways to celebrate love in the midst of so much heartache and isolation as the coronavirus pandemic spreads after its anniversary. Some are clinging to hope, seen in the most vulnerable and vaccinated front-line workers, in easing restrictions on restaurants in the hardest-hit places as the numbers begin to decline. The death toll is still rising to one million in the United States and many remain locked up in their homes.
Prince said florists are struggling to keep up with the onslaught of orders from people trying to send their love from a safe distance.
“We’re crushed,” she said.
Phones are ringing at restaurants in cities that have eased restrictions on indoor restaurants just in time for Valentine’s Day, one of the busiest days of the year for many restaurants that have been devastated by shutdowns designed to slow the spread of the virus.
In Chicago, the mayor loosened dining restrictions this week. After limiting restaurants to 25% capacity and 25 people per room, restaurants should now stay at 25%, but can serve up to 50 rooms per room.
Darling Restaurant is fully booked for this weekend and has been for a few weeks.
Sophie Huterstein, the restaurant’s owner, said that COVID-19 has allowed the 2-year-old restaurant to achieve the impossible: make people happy by agreeing to a 16:00 reservation.
“People are very flexible,” she said.
They are also on Valentine’s Day, ready to do something else on a weekend when the high temperature will reach teenagers and the lowest will fall well below zero.
“We have 14 greenhouses and people go out in full ski equipment,” she said.
In New York City, the America Bar restaurant in West Village is also fully booked for Valentine’s Day, with a long waiting list and high demand for the newly admitted 25% capacity for indoor dining, said partner David Rabin in restaurant. Several places, along with the governor’s decision to allow closing hours from 10pm to 11pm, allowed him to make more changes to his workers.
“It’s a welcome gift for us,” he said. “Was awesome”.
T Bar NYC Steak and Lounge in the Upper East Side is also fully booked. The owner Tony Fortuna says that some of his customers will not eat inside and he understands, but for those who asked to return to the restaurant, 25% is a good start. It gives people a glimmer of normalcy in a heartbreaking moment.
“It motivates everyone, we see a little hope,” he said. “It’s about perception: seeing people coming out and moving around it makes everyone feel in a different mood.”
In Portland, a 55-year-old married couple has special Valentine’s Day plans.
Gil and Mercy Galicia have barely left their homes in almost a year since the closures began, said their daughter, Cris Charbonneau. They had seen their close family, three children and six grandchildren scattered throughout the country.
Like many seniors, the year was particularly difficult for them. They immigrated from the Philippines in the 1960s and have lived in their half-acre home for more than 40 years.
Mercy, 80, is a cancer survivor and was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Gil, 88, used to go for walks to the mall every day to stay active, but hadn’t done so in a year. He fears that isolation has prevented them and he does not know how much longer they manage to live alone.
“We’re wasting years, COVID stole so precious this time,” Charbonneau said.
They don’t have a computer. When the vaccine became available, Gil called everywhere and could not get through. Charbonneau was in a video call with them on Thursday and saw a tweet from a local news station that the grocery store near their home had opened online appointments.
He was in a hurry to get two dates. She wasn’t paying attention to the meeting. He told them he had booked them for Sunday, February 14th.
“This is Valentine’s Day!” exclaimed her father and smiled at his wife.
“What a wonderful way to celebrate my love for you.”
They closed. Their daughter cried.
“That’s what I needed,” she said, “some hope.”
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Babwin reported from Chicago and Galofaro from Louisville, Kentucky. Associated Press journalists Tom Hays and Julie Walker contributed from New York.