All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Bouquets of berries and beauty: Strawberry Essences Florist & Fruit Creations offers both traditional, edible bouquets in downtown Buckhannon

Geanna Sabatelli, co-owner of Strawberry Essences Fruit and Floral Creations.

BUCKHANNON – Need more fruit or flowers in your life?

Lucky for you, Strawberry Essences Florist and Fruit Creations opened June 29 on Main Street in Buckhannon.

Co-owner of Strawberry Essences Florist and Fruit Creations Geanna Sabatelli said her family is from Buckhannon and decided to add a new kind of business to the area.

“We wanted something close to home, and it was perfect. It’s right around the corner and we love being artsy and crafty,” Sabatelli said. “We both fit in really well and we just thought it needed the edible fruit arrangements, because there wasn’t anything like that around here.”

She said her and her husband were the perfect duo for a fruit arrangements shop because she is a trained florist, and he is trained in the culinary arts.

“It was the perfect combination,” Sabatelli said. “Our main thing is going to be our chocolate-covered strawberries, and our strawberry shortcake, which is going to be really nice, and we’re going to have a couple tables up front where you can actually sit and enjoy it so you don’t always have to just take out. And then of course, we have a bunch of different varieties of the edible arrangements.”

The shop offers several already conceptualized edible arrangements on their menu with various fruits like pineapple, strawberries, cantaloupe, melon balls, oranges, apples, grapes and chocolate-covered fruit, but customers can also come up with their own arrangement by selecting their fruit of choice.  

“I think a lot of people, including myself, are into more healthier things, more organic, more things that are more good for you,” Sabatelli said. “Of course, it does have the chocolate, but the rest is fruit.”

To celebrate Fourth of July, the shop has been offering red, white and blue strawberries and apples.

They will be available at the shop and down at Jawbone park during Festival Friday, today, Friday, July 5.

“We’ll also be doing the red, white and blue fruit trees, which will have blueberries, strawberries, and white pretzels on it, just the red, white and blue colors,” Sabatelli said.

The shop will also create floral bouquets, and some examples of all their arrangements can be found on their website, www.strawberryessences.com and they have a Facebook page called Strawberry Essences Florist & Fruit Creations.

Orders may be placed by calling 304-439-2559. Located at 34 E. Main St. (beside Chase bank), the shop is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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