Watch CBS News

COVID-19 Economy: SF's Iconic Flower Mart Tries New Strategies To Survive The Pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) - San Francisco's iconic Flower Mart has been hit hard by the pandemic.

General Manager Jeanne Boes says 2020 has been a year for the record books, but not one for the bank ledgers - even in the flower industry.

"We are integrated with hotels, restaurants, events, celebrations so we lost about a million dollars worth of product while we were shut down," said Boes.

That was just for the month of March. The Flower Mart reopened just before Mother's Day, but even still, Boes says they're doing about 30 percent of their usual business.

It's a similar story for florists.

"We went from having a whole season of weddings booked to nothing, no work," says one florist.

She says she did a big business pivot and resurrected her floral subscriptions business, Bloom Tuesday, and started doing virtual and socially distant floral arranging classes.

Sprucing up your shelter in place has kept her business afloat.

"The very act of bringing flowers into your home changes the way you feel."
"We're just trying to stay positive," says Boes. "Flowers make people happy and it really proved that through all of this."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.