Love is in the air, and as area restaurants plan for one of the biggest nights of the year, UB students make plans to celebrate Valentine's Day with everything from fine dining to Chinese food delivery.
Russ Salvatore, owner of Salvatore's Italian Gardens in Depew, is getting ready for a busy week.
"We're already booked, not just for the holiday, but for Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well," said Salvatore. "The thing about Valentine's Day in the hospitality business is that if it falls on a weekday, you're booked right through the weekend, unlike New Year's where it's busy just for that day."
According to Salvatore, the restaurant is so booked at this point that reservations are already filling up for next Wednesday.
"We made the reservations weeks ago because they get booked so quickly," said Mindy Raczka, a junior. Raczka and her boyfriend have reservations at Daniel's Restaurant in Hamburg. "It was my choice this year and I think it's one of the best restaurants in the area."
Salvatore said dining is not the only thing that will be going on at his restaurant this week; marriage proposals are always common at Salvatore's on Valentine's Day.
"The place is full of couples and men are falling to their knees left and right," said Salvatore, laughing.
Some couples, though, are trading the fancy dinners for less expensive quality time together.
"We're broke and we have no car," said Kristen McCann, of herself and her boyfriend Jason Maskell. "We'll probably go to Starbucks for coffee and take a romantic walk together."
Another couple proving that romance can exist on a college budget is Binoy George and Lisa Mancini, both management students. Because a dinner date is out of the budget, George plans to surprise his girlfriend with four different flowers throughout the day to show her how much he cares.
"I am going to give her two real flowers that are red and yellow to represent how much our love and friendship mean to me, and then two fake flowers of the same colors to represent how long they will last," said George. He said he and Mancini will probably just spend the rest of the night holding hands.
Those not one-half of a starry-eyed couple are also finding ways to celebrate the holiday, although less traditionally and without the romance.
Freshman Eric Stratton and his single friends will be getting together for a "no couples allowed" party in Governors Hall. "We'll probably order in from Ying's and just hang out together," said Stratton.
