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Businesses prepare for busy Valentine's Day weekend
With Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday, many Bay area restaurants feeling the love, and are booked solid this weekend.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Restaurants across the Bay Area are prepping for a very busy Valentine's Day weekend. It comes as experts say couples are expected to spend more on this holiday than in past years.
Some eateries booked solid for Valentine's Day
Inside Original Joe's in San Francisco's North Beach, it may be Friday the 13th, but they're feeling lucky on this day before Valentine's Day.
"Coming off of last week, having the Super Bowl in San Francisco, to back it up with Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day weekend, just an incredible one-two punch," Original Joe's owner John Duggan said.
Duggan says they're booked solid, and with Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday, they're preparing for an influx of lovebirds all weekend.
"This is a special on Valentine's Day. It's a red velvet butter cake," chef Andre Domiciano said.
No doubt they'll be serving up plenty of those cakes this weekend, as a CouponFollow survey finds a romantic dinner is the top Valentine's Day gift this year.
"We're really humbled by that, and I think all restaurants are. When people come and celebrate a special day, one of the gifts of being in this business is you get to enjoy those moments with them. So we take it serious," Duggan said.
Valentine's Day spending projected to hit new record
From dinners to flowers to candy to jewelry, the National Retail Federation projects Americans will spend an average of $199.78 on their partner this Valentine's Day, a new record and up nearly $11 from last year's average of $188.81.
Some couples we spoke to—like Gabriel Nuno and Diane Arambula, who are spending their first Valentine's Day together—say it's money well spent on that special someone.
What they're saying:
"If you're with the person you love, it's kind of worth it," Nuno said.
"It's a nice thing to do. You feel good doing it for the person you love. It's really nice," Arambula said.
But Jeff and Linette Librum, who have been married for 43 years, say there's some truth to the old cliché ‘it’s the thought that counts'.
"I would rather that he get me a card and write something personal in it, or write me a letter, something that I can keep," Linette Librum said.
"As long we're together and do something simple, we're happy with that," Jeff Librum said.
Is Valentine's Day for the dogs?
People aren't just spending money on their partners this Valentine's Day. 35% of consumers plan to get Valentine's Day gifts for their pets this year, according to the National Retail Federation.
The Source: Interviews by KTVU's John Krinjak, with survey information from the National Retail Federation and CouponFollow.