DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- If you want to impress your sweetie this Valentine's Day, you might opt for the traditional romantic dinner and flowers, but candy can turn the grumpiest soul into a sweetheart, as girlfriends and boyfriends in New York, Brooklyn and Chicago will tell you.
According to a Verizon SuperPages.com survey, New York City has the most candy stores, making it the Sweetest City, with Brooklyn and Chicago also displaying an irresistible sweet tooth. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh -- hailing from the Chocolate State of Pennsylvania -- capture fifth and sixth spots in the Top 20 Sweetest Cities.
Top 20 Sweetest Cities: 1. New York City 2. Brooklyn 3. Chicago 4. Los Angeles 5. Philadelphia 6. Pittsburgh 7. Houston 8. Seattle 9. Bronx 10. Cincinnati, OH, and Portland, OR (tie) 11. Honolulu 12. Saint Louis 13. San Diego 14. Salt Lake City 15. New Orleans 16. San Francisco 17. Cleveland 18. Denver 19. Baltimore 20. San Antonio
SuperPages.com compiled its Top 20 list of the Sweetest Cities based on the number of candy store listings on SuperPages.com, its popular nationwide Internet Yellow Pages.
"When the gray rainy weather hits, people tend to eat more sweets and pastries because it isn't swimsuit weather," said Joanne Gusweiler, owner of CoCoLuxe Fine Pastries in Peapack, N.J. "When people decide to have chocolates," Gusweiler concluded, "They don't skimp. They go all out."
Whether you're looking for gourmet candy stores, a romantic restaurant or the freshest flowers to impress your Valentine, SuperPages.com can find the one closest to you. In fact, with all the choices in Manhattan, SuperPages.com even tells you if the store is on the Upper East Side or in Greenwich Village.
"When I saw how many people had gone to our site from SuperPages.com, it confirmed that the Internet is our best advertising value," Gusweiler concluded.
"Interestingly, our results show that except for the praline aficionados in New Orleans and Houston, Southerners aren't big candy consumers," said Robyn Rose, vice president of Internet Marketing for Verizon SuperPages.com. "Atlanta and Dallas didn't even crack the top 20 for candy stores. Both cities have a lot of florists, so perhaps flowers are the preferred way to show your affection in the South."
Verizon Information Services, a division of Verizon Communications Corp. (NYSE:VZ), is the nation's most advanced provider of yellow pages and related shopping information. It has $3.5 billion in revenues from products including: Verizon Yellow Pages; Verizon SuperPages.com (http://www.superpages.com), the nation's best Internet directory and a leading online shopping resource; and the SuperPages On the Go information directory offered through Verizon Wireless Get It Now services and on other wireless carriers. The company is the largest publisher of Hispanic directories in the U.S. and the first to provide a Hispanic online shopping resource (http://www.superpages.com/espanol).
The Verizon SuperPages Logo is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2272
Dana Benton Russell
(972) 453-7014
dana.b.russell@verizon.com
