‘It’s just not normal’: Horry County florists face challenges amid coronavirus
Only two people at a time are allowed to come inside Vivian Skipper’s floral shop in Longs.
Customers come to the door, ring a door bell, and wait if there are already two people inside Buds and Blooms.
“We’ve never done this before,” said Skipper, who along with her husband have owned the shop for nearly three decades. ”It’s just not normal and I don’t know when it will be normal. It has changed our lives.”
Florists across Horry County are now able to open their doors after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster lifted an order so some retailers could reopen this week.
Some shop owners say business has been off to a slow start due to the coronavirus, and they are facing a lack of supply in flowers, making holidays challenging, like Mother’s Day which is right around the corner.
Buds and Blooms in Longs closed April 6 and reopened Thursday, Skipper said. The flowers delivered to the shop depend on whatever the supplier can get.
“It is very slow and not all product that we are accustom to is available,” she said.
Skipper said the business applied and received a Paycheck Protection Program loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration, which was designed to assist small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I guess we are one of the lucky ones,” Skipper said. “We are going to give this our best shot.”
The Daisy Fair Flowers in Conway reopened this week after temporarily being closed for nearly one month, said owner Daved Kinard.
“Financially for us it was more cost effective to shut down completely and reopen,” he said. “Business has been great (this week), to my surprise.” Kinard added business isn’t like usual, but special occasions, like administrative professionals day, birthdays and anniversaries help during this time.
Thursday began with 15 orders, he said, though he anticipated the rest of the day to be slow.
Kinard said it’s hard to know how many flowers to keep in the store. He’s keeping a limited stock so fresh flowers can come in daily.
“There’s no method to this madness,” he said. “This is uncharted territory for us.”
The business applied for a PPP loan several weeks ago and was immediately approved, Kinard said. But the next day, he received notice that the allotted money was already gone, he said.
For now, Daisy Fair is open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
In Myrtle Beach, Flowers By Richard locked its lobby doors to customers before the executive orders were announced, said owner India Rogers. The business has instead been operating with curbside and delivery services while taking phone and online orders.
“We’ve seen a drop in business, but there’s some business,” Rogers said.
The floral shop has not applied for any small business loans, but is “very cautious” with purchasing flowers during this time, Rogers said.
“We’ve just been budgeting and making sure we don’t overspend, being real cautious of what we have coming in,” she said.
