Yuba-Sutter businesses love ringing up Valentine's Day sales

The first Valentine's Day dinner reservation was requested on New Year's Eve, and the phone has continued ringing at The City Cafe ever since.

The Yuba City restaurant is booked solid starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with the only open seating available after 8 p.m. That's the way it always goes, said server Lindsey Poma, who will spend the amorous evening waiting on love struck couples for the third year in a row.

"It's very intimate, very lovey-dovey," she said. "You can feel the romance."

Yuba-Sutter businesses say area residents are showing no shortage of love this holiday season, stocking up on flowers, jewelry, chocolates and intimate apparel.

At Apple's Personally Yours, owner Ruth Soto had adorned her D Street storefront with pink pashminas, rose-pattern purses and dangly heart-shaped earrings, all of which are in demand this time of year, she said. In the past 10 years, Soto has developed a lot of male customers for whom she acts as a personal shopper, picking out just the right item for wives or girlfriends, whether a purse, belly-button ring or incense.

"You can't complete the night without the good-smelling stuff," Soto said.

Shoppers at Mystique Boutique were thinking of another must-have for a romantic evening, as they perused lacy lingerie and sultry satin nightgowns.

"Something that makes a lady feel pretty doesn't have to be on the outside," said Jerry Souza, of Arboga. "It can be under jeans and a T-shirt."

Souza has been shopping at Mystique Boutique for more than two decades. Owner Brenda Riebsam knows his wife's style and keeps her measurements in a small under-the-counter box so all he has to do is pick out the color.

On Saturday, he chose something for Valentine's Day and an "I love you" gift, which he'll give his wife at a later date. On Tuesday, she'll also get a teddy bear with the year on it, as she does every year.

"I like to splurge on my wife," Souza said.

On the other side of the river, Micki Poole said her store, Poole's Jewelers, was staying busy as men came in looking for gold lacquered roses, Trollbeads and other treasures. An ever-so-popular gift, jewelry is a great Valentine's gift because there are options for every budget and it is personal.

"I know when I wear jewelry my husband gave me, I can remember when he gave it to me," Poole said. "It's very sentimental and evokes that memory."

In nearly 40 years of marriage, Bill Connolly has only forgotten sweets for his Valentine once, and it's a mistake he won't make again. He drove up to Marysville from Wheatland on Saturday with his 7-year-old granddaughter, Abigail Baynes, and together they picked out a velvety heart-shaped box to fill with milk-chocolate turtles.

Owner Ethel Padgett said she cannot make the caramel-pecan sweets fast enough this time of year and is often asked to include them in custom-made boxes, some of which in recent years have included engagement rings and proposals written in chocolate.

"I love this time of year," she said. "People are going out of their way to make others happy. Maybe that's why they say, 'Happy Valentine's Day.'"

CONTACT Ashley Gebb at agebb@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4783. Find her on Facebook at /ADagebb or on Twitter at @ADagebb.