Businesses appeal for Mother's Day shopping

SAINT JOSEPH, Mich. — Something a home decor shop and a popular restaurant have in common is that they both depend on Mother’s Day business, especially during a pandemic.

Ed Bennett, part-owner at The Candlestick Maker in downtown St. Joseph, said usually has its best business Mother's Day weekend.

“Mother’s Day is always very good,” Bennett said.
“Typically our normal customer is a female…but for Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, we kind of flip that. We get a ton of men looking around, looking to get something for mom or their wife or their sister.”

But since Michigan went into lockdown, the shop had to get creative.

“We had to figure out what can we put together,” Bennett said.

“We put baskets together that we can offer on Facebook and make it really easy with (customer’s) choices, you’ll come by curbside and pick it up.”

The format of curbside pickup is quickly becoming a lifeline for Schu’s Bar & Grill as well, also a popular destination for Mother’s Day.

“A lot of people who have never used Facebook before are using Facebook now to go look up menus and find out the places that are offering curbside pickup,” owner Jim Kramer said.

“I think celebrating Mother’s Day is honoring our mothers, honoring the women that are around us, and letting them know that we care for them in any way we can do that. And being a part of a restaurant means that’s food.”