WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mother’s Day during the coronavirus pandemic meant an uptick in sales for Lee’s Flower and Card Shop in Washington, D.C.
FILE PHOTO: Lee’s Flower Shop, one of the oldest businesses in D.C.’s U Street neighborhood, posts signs on its windows ahead of another night of protests against George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody, in Washington, U.S., June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
“With this quarantine, people haven’t been able to see their loved ones” so they are now sending flowers or food for holidays, birthdays and other life events, said Stacie Lee Banks, the co-owner and president of the florist on Washington’s historic U Street.
Banks’ shop is one of the millions of U.S. companies to receive one of the Paycheck Protection Program loans, initially meant to cover eight weeks of payroll, rent and utilities for companies with fewer than 500 employ