As one of the closest jewelry stores to the Salt Lake County Clerk’s Office, Stroud Jewelers saw a bump in business when a federal judge cleared the way Friday for same-sex marriage in Utah.
"It’s been pretty awesome," said Zealand
Stroud, adding his store always has done good business with same-sex
couples. "We’ve had quite a few come in and want to commemorate their
love for each other. It’s pretty neat."
Some jewelers, florists and bakeries in the
heart of Salt Lake City reported surges in their already busy
holiday-season business when the Salt Lake County clerk began issuing
marriage licenses to same-sex couples after U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby declared Utah law prohibiting same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
Ashley Jacobsen of Granite Bakery said her business received a number of calls ordering wedding cakes that day.
"We can’t do the big three-tier cakes, but we
did quite a few fancy or single-tier [cakes]," she said. "The first day
caught us by surprise but we were ready for the next two."
Gary Notwell of Art Floral saw an unexpected jump in business. So, too, did Cindy Haskins at Huddart Floral.
"We saw some very excited people coming in and we’re really happy for them," Haskins said.
Joe Maughan, known as "Joe the Jeweler" at 9th
and 9th Jewelers, said his store was already popular with the LBGT
community, and he has benefited from the weddings.
"We’ve definitely seen a few more than normal.
They were all heading to the courthouse," he said of about helping gay
couples get ready for their weddings.
Chris Howard of Fankauser Jewelry in Sugar
House said his store was closed Sunday and Monday. But he was greeted
with a text this morning from a customer asking him if he would be open
Tuesday to sell a wedding ring.
Not all businesses saw a spike, however.
Williams Jewelers had not seen any jump due to gay marriages. Neither
had Bennion’s Jewelers in downtown Salt Lake City.
"Wedding rings have been real slow so far," said Kathy Lawrence at Bennion’s. "I thought we’d see a jump, but we didn’t."
No comments:
Post a Comment