Grateful for community support, Bellefonte shop finds ways to give back during pandemic
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Business Matters: Path to COVID Recovery
From restaurants to hotels, gyms to theaters, no business has been immune to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. What unites many in Centre County, however, is the resiliency shown in the face of tremendous challenges including shutdowns, fewer customers and financial struggles. Business Matters: Path to COVID Recovery highlights the ways businesses across the county have adapted to pandemic challenges, and what lessons they’ll take into the post-pandemic world.
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Even during a pandemic, one local flower shop has found ways to blossom.
Susan Munnell — owner of A Flower Basket, located at 633 E. Howard St. in Bellefonte — said the coronavirus mitigation efforts have had pros and cons.
For example, the business lost many events like weddings, recognition dinners, Christmas parties and funerals due to government mandated gathering limits.
“Those are big items, and when you look at your bottom line they do affect how your business is doing,” Munnell said.
Munnell added that the wholesalers from which she buys flowers have had a tough time keeping up their supply with the decreased demand.
“It was the middle of January until I saw a red rose because I just couldn’t get them,” Munnell said.
Still, Munnell said she didn’t have to lay off any employees because they’re mostly retired community members who work there part time.
“There’s so many people that would’ve gone somewhere else and tried to find something when we were shut down, but they’ve been wonderful and really loyal and devoted,” Munnell said.
Penny Williams, who has worked at the shop for about 17 years, said although local customers do come into the store here and there, she misses seeing frequent faces daily.
“Everything’s kind of been a standstill until all the local events start picking back up again and word of mouth gets out,” Williams said.
For now, Munnell said business has been pretty busy on a day-to-day basis and especially around holidays because families aren’t able to be together.
During a “stressful” two-week period when the pandemic began in March 2020, the shop was forced to close, leaving Munnell with all of the work. She said she had to drive to Bloomsburg to get her flowers and would take them home to cut, arrange and ultimately deliver.
Throughout this time, Munnell said she received calls from customers offering encouragement. Once the two weeks were up, she said some customers paid extra on their orders to help out.
“The customer base that we have is phenomenal,” Munnell said. “They’re just so supportive.”
Dona Goldman — who Munnell said is one of the store’s most loyal customers — said she supports the local business because it has “clever and unique items” and because Munnell is a kind person.
“I shop local,” Goldman said. “I think in our small town we have to keep these businesses going.”
Munnell said she tried a curbside pickup option for customers and has small sales every once in a while, but it’s still been difficult.
“It’s a challenge because everyone wants to shop on Amazon or go to Walmart ... to get their flowers because they think ‘Oh, they’ve got them and they’re cheap,’ but the quality (is different),” Munnell said.
Williams said when certain businesses were deemed essential, including A Flower Basket, customers rushed to chain stores.
“You wonder why when the smaller businesses opened back up, why it took so long for people to start coming back to us, yet they went to the big-box stores,” Williams said.
Despite any challenges her business has faced during the pandemic, Munnell wanted to help others. She recently collected donations in the store and through a GoFundMe page to buy packaged snacks, bottled drinks and fruit for roughly 250 Centre Crest nursing home employees and over 550 Mount Nittany Medical Center employees.
Munnell also distributed gift baskets to the medical center’s departments working with COVID-19 inpatients and made arrangements for each nurse’s station, the break room and the lobby. She said the goal was to let the employees working in “such bleak situations” know they are appreciated, and that she hopes others are inspired to give.
“(These employees) leave their homes and families to help total strangers,” Munnell said. “We couldn’t have done it without the generous support of community members and customers who gave.”
