Balloons By The Bay

Saved the day! This guy put an awesome balloon bouquet together, went out of his way to accommodate my needs and schedule, and called me when it turned out my directions to the delivery place weren’t clear. The balloons are big and look great. Thanks again!

I think the key person at the Balloon place is now a guy named Benton Williams. He’s a little guy, with a charming wit and a limp right leg. It’s amazing sometimes to see him storm out with a big bunch of mylars, catch a midsummer gale and nearly get swept into the yonder. I heartily recommend.

Do not use them unless you want your friend to be sad on her birthday! We had an extensive conversation with Long and Lily at Balloons by the Bay, about what colors we wanted to use, and what time they would deliver balloons to a friend’s party which we were unable to attend in person. But the day of the delivery we got a phone call from Lily to say that all but 2 of the colors we had talked about were not actually available — and this was 15 minutes before they were supposed to be delivered. When we expressed our concern and disappointment, Lily said, «Well, maybe you should just call someone else.» And next time we will.

I got the name of this place from a friend, and ordered a ton of balloons for our law school graduation. They had all sorts of special shapes, including sharks, which is what I ordered. It was a little tricky to find the door, but other than that, everything went smoothly. They delivered the balloons to our venue right on time, and they all lasted through the party. (though some of the sharks went missing early on …) I think they also do things like balloon arches and columns, if you’re into that.

For the longest time whenever I dined at Little Thai on the corner of Polk and Broadway, at some point during my meal I would inevitably see huge bunches of balloons making their way on the sidewalk around the restaurant. I love balloons, so this always delighted me immensely. Where were they going? What were they doing here?
The answer, my friend, is that there is a secret balloon door sandwiched unassumingly between buildings, and the balloons were making the short trip from that door to the waiting balloon van parked just out of view around the corner. A secret balloon door! Did you hear me? How awesome is that? One of the reasons I love this city!
There isn’t a storefront. Just a barely marked, locked entrance (although marked now with a faded business card and those mylar numbers for personalizing balloons, so more telling than before), and beyond that, a long, narrow breezeway to another random side door. I think it’s the small back room of somebody’s flat, and inside is The Place Where Balloons Come From.
Call the number, let her know what you want — occasion, recipient, types, colors, and/​or how much you want to spend — and rest assured that you will end up with the absolute best balloon bouquet that money can buy. Honestly, they even last longer than supermarket or florist balloons. The woman is a professional, after all. Balloons are her thing.