Romancing the Dollar: Business of Passion

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, January 31, 2007

with LeeAnn Neal & Greg Cohen

Wintertime on the coast: a time for reflection, resolutions, and for many businesses geared to tourism – a predictable drop in business.

Enter Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Smack in the middle of slow season, it can be a welcome opportunity for entrepreneurs to gain extra income while they wait patiently for spring’s upswing.

This month, we took a look at businesses around the region that get a financial boost from Valentine’s Day – because their establishments cater to romance.

Intimate items in Astoria

The Victorian Lace clothing store in downtown Astoria seems tailor-made for Cupid’s holiday. This one-of-a-kind boutique sells high quality intimate women’s apparel, but that’s not all. Delicate handmade sweaters and shawls from Newfoundland nestle alongside comfy PJs, stretch jeans, camisoles, prom dresses and wedding gowns.

From elaborate Victorian hats on display to ethereal hand-painted murals of angels on the walls, the atmosphere is romantic and personal – just like Valentine’s Day.

Owner Toni Mitchum, a Newfoundland native herself, is gracious and welcoming. She and husband Mitch moved to Astoria from Washington, D.C. over a dozen years ago. As she began shopping around the area, she felt something was missing.

“I found there was a real need for nice underwear and nightwear. Not so much sexy Frederick’s of Hollywood, but nice quality things that made you feel feminine,” she said. “I realized there was a niche for that and decided to open a store.”

When the shop first opened, Victorian Lace sold just intimate apparel. But as customers began asking for different items, it eventually became a full-fledged clothing store. For most of the year, her customers are women browsing for something special. But around Valentine’s Day, her clientele shifts.

“Valentine’s Day you always get more men shoppers,” she said. “They want to buy something special for their loved one. They peek in, like, ‘Can I come in here?’ It’s nice to see.”

Mitchum said she notices about a 15 percent increase in sales around the holiday, a nice prelude to spring’s cruise ship season.

Glamorous attire in St. Helens

In St. Helens, a walk through Jilly’s Again in the Olde Town District is like a personal tour through the closet of a Hollywood starlet – when Hollywood was in its heyday and starlets were more than just flash-in-the-pan celebrities. The shop is filled with gowns, formal dresses and accessories that you can visualize Marilyn Monroe might have worn to an Academy Awards ceremony or that could have drawn the attention of Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast At Tiffany’s.”

Owner Jill Newkirk-Owens said she searches for unique designer items that one might find in the most exclusive Beverly Hills boutique – but are much more affordable in her shop. In fact, she said her shop draws a large portion of its clientele from the Portland-metro area.

For the Valentine’s shopping season when a gift should express the feeling that your loved-one is “one-in-a-million,” Newkirk-Owens said her most popular items include designer Victorian hats, beaded purses and dangling, colorful earrings – any of which will assure that the recipient will feel that she is truly special. In February, usually a slow month, romantically-inclined shoppers increase sales by about 20 percent.

Cascading chocolate caters from Manzanita

Down the coast in Manzanita, Val and Ray Scales couldn’t have chosen a more romantic location from which to peddle their wares.

The owners of North Coast Chocolate Fountains offer service from Astoria to Tillamook.

“We do a lot of weddings, especially at the beach,” said Val. “If it’s a beautiful afternoon or evening, the beach can be gorgeous.”

Valentine’s Day, traditionally a big seller for chocolates, gives North Coast a big boost — business doubles each year in February.

The Scaleses also tote their fountains to parties. They work with a number of local hotels and other venues, including the Astoria Golf and Country Club, Gearhart Golf Links, Best Western Ocean View Resort, in Seaside, the Surf Sand and Hallmark resorts, in Cannon Beach and the Nehalem Bay Winery.

Word of the appeal of their chocolate fountains occasionally takes the Scales over the Coast Range.

“We like to focus on the coast, but we do some events in Portland,” said Val.

The Scaleses, who are originally from London, started North Coast Chocolate Fountains two years ago, after retiring.

“Our daughter had a chocolate fountain business in Portland, and it was quite successful,” said Val. “It’s great fun.”

Fountain service includes a choice of premium dark, milk, or white chocolate, 2.5 hours of service, delivery, set up, break down and fountain cleaning and decorative table accents and skewers.

Suggested dipping items include strawberries, pineapple chunks, bananas, mini cream puffs, pretzel sticks and meringues.

While many private parties supply their own dipping supplies, North Coast Chocolate Fountains offers packages as well.

They have provided fountains for as few as 10 guests to as many as 500.

Demand for flowers in Seaside

In Seaside, the picturesque flower shop The Natural Nook has been doing business on Broadway downtown for the past two years. Before they moved there, owner Cathie Cates said the shop used to be two blocks away.

“It’s kind of like a different country from down here,” Cates said of their former location. “Now we’re on the main drag.” She estimates business jumped about 50 percent after the move, just from additional walk-in traffic.

Valentine’s Day adds another boost to her business in a normally slow season. Cates and her staff began planning ahead early in the year for the big day. She said business jumps about 100 percent around the romantic holiday.

“We’re already getting our delivery routes set up and our clip boards,” she said during a January interview. “The week before, we start get