Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14. This year it’s on Saturday. Love, romance, and affection are expressed through gifts of flowers, cards, special gestures, and sweets on Valentine’s Day. It originated in the Middle Ages as an occasion to honor St. Valentine, an early Christian martyr. Valentine’s Day has become a significant cultural, religious and commercial event in many regions of the world.
In West Columbia, there are several traditional ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day, including baked confections.

JJ’s Place is at 557 Meeting St. in West Columbia. Janice Caldwell is one of the owners and she is a baker. She said Valentine’s is a good time of the year to offer special tastes.

“We have some things we make just for Valentine’s,” she said, “like our strawberry pop-tart. Another thing we do is conversation bread. It’s bread with words on it, like ‘Hug-Me’ or ‘Love You’ like you’ll see on the little candy heart Valentine’s kids share.”

JJ’s Place has more sweets too. “We have strawberry-chocolate muffins and the chocolate-covered strawberries,” Janice said.

The Cake House-Casa del Pastel is at 323 North 9th Street Unit B, West Columbia. Owner Debbie Resendiz began advertising Valentine’s treats almost a week ago. The Cake House offers a “Valentine’s 2026 Sweet Treat Box.”
It has cupcakes, dipped strawberries, cake bites, sugar cookies, and Heart-Shaped Valentine’s Pops. There is also a smaller box with chocolate-dipped pretzel rods, a heart-shaped cookie and a “Love Letter Chocolate Dipped Rice Treat.”

Breads and Such at 1220 C Avenue, West Columbia, is also getting ready for Valentines. The owners are Beth Crolley, Chris Moore, and Bobby Johnson, who first met when they were on staff at New Bridge Academy in West Columbia. They opened Breads and Such after leaving the education field.

“For Valentine’s we have heart-shaped sugar cookies, chocolate-covered strawberries, and vanilla chai cake,” Beth said. “We also have mini-pound cakes in the colors of pink, red, yellow, and chocolate and vanilla.” Other Valentine’s sweets we have are a red velvet cake and a butter-rum pound cake.”

Beth also said Breads and Such changed its hours of operation a couple of years ago from a mostly morning schedule to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to offer  meals.

This year, for Valentine’s, Breads and Such is offering sirloin, salmon, or vegetable lasagna, salad and with sides and dessert for Valentines dining.

There’s also flowers:

• Jarrett’s Jungle, a local florist at 1621 Sunset Boulevard, is a hot-spot for Valentine’s Day flowers.
• Another West Columbia florist is Sightler’s Florist and Marketplace at 716 Meeting Street in West Columbia. The floral and gift shop specializes in a variety of fresh flowers and creative gift ideas to suit any style.
• Pineview Florist is at 3030 Leaphart Road. It provides arrangements for Valentine’s Day and on-time delivery. 

Valentine’s favorite Restaurants:

• Chayz Lounge at 607 Meeting St.
• DeLucca’s Italian Grill at 1720 Sunset Boulevard
• Black Rooster in the Brookland complex
• Terra is at 100 State Street

West Columbia Restaurants

• Grecian Gardens Restaurant – 2312 Sunset Blvd – 803-794-7552
• Cafe Strudel – 300 State St. – 803 – 926-5255
• Savage Craft Ale Works – 430 Center St. – (803) 888-6005
• WECO Bottle and Biergarten – (803) 851-1279
• The Hideout in WECO – State Street
• La Cienega Mexican Grill & Seafood – (803) 888-7471
• Breads and Such – 1220 C Ave. – (803) 851- 0566
• Hite’s BBQ – 240 Dreher Rd. – (803) 794-4120
• The Original Brunches – 2245 Leaphart Rd – (803) 791-7477
• Jimmy’s Mini Mart/Citgo – 812 Meeting St. – (803) 794-0090
• Maurice’s Piggie Park – 1600 Charleston Highway – 803-796-0220J
• Nick’s House of Pizza Restaurant- 1082 A Sunset Blvd – 803-794-9240
• DeLuccas 1720 Sunset Blvd. – 803- 926-5255
• Breakfast at Ruiz – 116 State Street – (803) 550-9681
• Ariana’s Greek Restaurant – 1720 Sunset Blvd. – (803) 796-4430
• Lizard’s Thicket – 2234 Sunset Blvd. 803 – 794-0923
• True BBQ – 1237 D Ave – (803) 791-9950
• Chick-fil-A -2299 Augusta Rd. – (803) 939-1600
• Rush’s 2332 Sunset Blvd. – (803) 796-5034
• Another Broken Egg – 101 State St. – (803) 829-0223