SPECIALTY BUSINESSES IN HIGH DEMAND DURING PROM SEASON

How do area business people feel about the combination of Farewell to Freshmen, Central High School's Prom, and Mother's Day all on the same weekend?

"It is a madhouse," said Phillip Jestus, head designer at Toni's Flower House.

Local florists, limousine companies and restaurants are in high demand with the combination of prom season and Mother's Day. Many businesses are still recuperating from last weekend, when Notre Dame, Jackson, Kelly, Chaffee and Oran school districts all held proms.

This weekend it is Cape Girardeau's turn. Farewell to Freshmen, a mini-prom held in honor of freshmen at Central Junior High School, was held on Friday. And Central High School's prom will be held at A.C. Brase Arena Building tonight.

Retailers of formal wear are hit the hardest during prom season. Rodney Bridges of Garber's Men's Wear said last weekend was likely the biggest prom weekend in history for the region. And with two major events this weekend, his storeroom has been filled with tuxedos all week.

"They started coming in today to get fitted," Bridges said. "It's just been incredible."

Prom night isn't complete without flowers, and local florists have taken orders for weeks for corsages and boutonnieres. The creations of roses and carnations may be small, but they are time consuming to make. Add multiple floral arrangements for mothers, and the result is very little down time for area florists.

"We'll handle it, but it's just kind of hard to get everything done for this weekend," said Jestus. "They're just basically roses and carnations, and we always have those on hand."

Renee Barks, owner of Sweetheart Florist in Jackson, said she worked extra hours and filled special orders at the last minute for students in Jackson and Marble Hill last weekend. Several students wanted tropical flowers like gardenias that are more difficult to obtain, she said.

"We'd like a week for special orders, but we're doing them anyway," she said. "We work late and stay late until it's all done and everything's been picked up."

One type of business not preparing for a prom night rush is motels. Most have policies not to rent to people under 21 years old, and managers said they're not making exceptions, even if a parent accepts responsibility for the room.

"We're not affected because we don't rent the room out to anyone 21 or younger," said Kathe Forsberg, manager of Days Inn at Jackson.

Pete Poe, general manager of Drury Lodge and Pear Tree Inn in Cape Girardeau, said each student rental is handled individually. "It happens occasionally. We deal with each one on an individual basis," he said.

Limousine drivers have been in big demand. Companies said teen-agers looking to impress their dates and those not wanting to drive on their special night began booking cars as early as January.

Those that planned ahead were rewarded with rentals and were allowed to have up to 10 people to a car to share costs. In some cases, the youths thought they would be allowed to drink in the vehicles. They were mistaken, said Shannon Barrett, a driver with Nelson's Limousine Service.

"Our policy is absolutely not," she said. "We don't make any extra rules for prom night rentals, but we don't allow drinking either."

Local law enforcement agencies said prom nights are generally quiet in the region. Police in Cape Girardeau and Jackson said officers will be watching for intoxicated drivers and loud, late-night parties, but they don't expect prom-goers to add to their workloads.

"The big thing is the safety reminders," said Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Kevin Orr. "It's great for them to be out and have a good time, but we want them to keep their safety in mind while they're doing so."