43
Chocolatiers stock up for sweet sales dash
YOUNGSTOWN
If you’ve held off on your Valentine’s Day shopping for that special someone to the last minute, there’s still time to buy some chocolates.
Local chocolatiers and candy stores are ready for the oncoming traffic in business today and Saturday.
“Everybody is running around for their chocolates,” Linda DeProfio, general manager of Sharon, Pa.-based Daffins Chocolate Candies’ Girard location, 39 W. Liberty St. “There will be lines.”
Business is expected to increase with Valentine’s Day on a Saturday this year, said John Giannios, president of Struthers-based Giannios Candy, 430 Youngstown-Poland Road.
Valentine’s Day also is the “kickoff” for the busiest season, Easter, he added.
The day before and the day of Valentine’s Day are its busiest each year, Giannios said.
“It’s a good holiday, but it’s very unpredictable,” he said.
Cold weather usually deters people from going out to shop for Valentine’s gifts.
“Weather’s always been a factor,” said Jeff Thacker, retail sales manager of Gorant Chocolatier, 8301 Market St., in Boardman.
Unlike cold weather, one hot item local retailers are selling this holiday are chocolate-covered strawberries.
“They’re very attractive,” said Spyros Macris, president of Philadelphia Candies based in Hermitage, Pa. The company has a store in Canfield at 1449 Boardman-Canfield Road.
Its strawberries will come in either milk or dark chocolate, which are sold about five times a year.
“Customers really appreciate them,” he said.
Gorant Chocolatier prepared 1,000 boxes of eight-piece strawberries for Thursday and today.
“It’s something both men and women can enjoy,” Thacker said.
Customers can also pre-order their chocolate strawberries at Daffins, which are available through Saturday, DeProfio said.
Additionally, Giannios Candy will sell bulk chocolates in boxes ranging 1 to 6 pounds. It sold 10,000 6-pound boxes on the Home Shopping Network last week, Giannios said.
Furthermore, retailers also have extended hours today and Saturday. Gorant’s Boardman location is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with its Canfield location open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The company’s licensed store in Austintown is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Giannios Candy’s store hours in its Struthers, and Boardman location are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours for Daffin’s Candies in Girard will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with its Niles location open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Philadelphia Candies store hours in Hermitage and Boardman will remain the same from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“I think its a great holiday to show appreciation to someone you care about,” Macris said.