Valentine’s Day keeps local shops busy

Valentine’s Day is the first major, gift-giving holiday of the new year. The National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend about $18 billion, which means big business for local stores.
At Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge, chocolatier Rebecca Reed spent Feb. 14 hand-dipping hundreds of chocolate-covered strawberries. She said the company would do two weeks’ worth of business in just a few hours.
“This is our holiday,” Reed said. “Right after Christmas stops w