Couples spread the love to local Durham businesses on Valentine's Day

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Love was in the air in the Bull City, as couples flocked to downtown Durham to celebrate Valentine's Day by visiting small businesses.

It all came as roughly 84% of Durham residents say the Bull City is a great place to live or work, according to a recent resident satisfaction survey from the city.

"I like that it's walkable and there's always something to do on the weekend if you're following a bunch of local restaurants or organizations," said Ness Garza, of Durham.

Stacey and Christine Williams of Henderson decided to spend Valentine's Day in Durham.

"We also went to Freedman's, the fabric store. We went over there, which is a small business, and then we went to Weldon Mills. And now we're over here to get some desserts," said Christine Williams.

The couple said they enjoy visiting a local, small business as much as they can.

"I think small business is kind of like the key to the community," said Stacey.Williams. "It's the heartbeat of the community."

Many restaurants downtown were also getting a lot of love from the community on Saturday.

Just about every seat was filled Saturday night at Nikos in Brightleaf Square for Valentine's Day.

Nikos Chef & Operating Partner Douglas Rodriguez said the winter storms last month forced them to lose some business.

"Snowstorms happened during restaurant week, so we weren't able to complete the full cycle of the restaurant. We lost the weekend business, so hopefully we'll make up for it, now with Valentine's Day," he said. "Things are great tonight. Very busy."

As for the resident survey, residents say they'd like to see some improvements in a few specific areas, mainly street maintenance, police protection, and pedestrian facilities.

Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App