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A customer completes a transaction at Bella Donna Salon and Spa in Painesville. (Bryson Durst — The News-Herald)
With Thanksgiving now in the past and holiday shopping in full swing, local business owners are highlighting their role in their communities as Small Business Saturday arrives.
One Small Business Saturday participant is Our Treasures, which sells antique gifts and fusion mineral paints from its store at 50 W. Erie St. in Painesville.
“We usually do pretty good on Small Business Saturdays,” said co-owner Cindy Quick. “People really come out towards this time of year.”
She said that the day increases awareness of the store.
“We’ve been here since 2018,” Quick said. “We still have people that come in and they’re like, ‘We never knew you were even here.’ So, it helps bring awareness. And more so after COVID, people are willing to shop small.”
She added that though “foot traffic’s been down for most of the year,” business is “picking up as we get closer to the holidays.”
Betty Vento said that Small Business Saturday also draws visitors to Mosack’s Christian Gifts and Books, which she co-owns with her husband Joe Vento at 7633 Mentor Ave. in Mentor.
“People come out,” she said of the two days following Thanksgiving.
Both stores plan to offer discounts for the occasion. Quick said that Our Treasures normally offers a store-wide discount. This year, customers who spend $25 or more will be entered to win a basket with soaps, candles, teas and vintage items.
“It’s just kind of a cornucopia basket,” she said.
Vento said that Mosack’s will also offer sales this year.
“On Friday and Saturday we’ll have a progressive sale, so the more you spend, the higher the discount,” she said.
Meanwhile, owner Mary Jo Miller of Painesville’s Bella Donna Salon and Spa said that her business at 150 Main St. sees visitors who are in town for Thanksgiving weekend, though Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are not as big for the salon as they are for retail outlets.
The salon’s retail side offers various promotions around Thanksgiving, she added.
Small Business Saturday was launched by American Express in 2010. The financial company said that the day is part of its Shop Small initiative.
Community ties
The local owners highlighted the roles that small businesses play in their communities.
“It’s the small, independently owned, mom-and-pop stores and restaurants that really give a city its flavor, a sense of community,” Quick said. “We’re the first ones that people reach out to to sponsor their kids’ teams and things like that. Communities need that.”
She discussed the types of goods that vendors sell at Our Treasures, including antiques, hand-dyed yarns, handmade soaps and a local artist’s cards.
“We give a place for not just us to sell our things, but others, too,” Quick said.
Miller said that small business “is and always has been the backbone of the economy.”
“It’s important to have a good, strong area of small business, because people want to live where they can shop, and so small business is extremely important,” she said. “It is, however, more challenging now, since people are online shopping.”
“But still, the uniqueness of small businesses – if they work at trying to keep themselves in that niche of a little bit more unique, I think people love it, and they love to support local,” Miller added.
She also said that small businesses have been a topic on social media.
“There’s all these things on there that say, a big corporation isn’t going to know you as a person like a small business who’s depending on the business to keep them going,” Miller said.
“Since the shutdown, people have been more dedicated than ever to shop local,” she added. “So, those are the people, if they’re wanting to come out and support small business, that we’ll see, because they’re supporting small business in general.”
Vento expressed appreciation for the customers who have visited Mosack’s, which moved to its current location in 2019.
“Thankfully the people in the area do shop small, because we have expanded to this new location a few years ago, and people are very happy we’re here, and happy with our staff and our products,” she said.
In addition to supporting a local business, customers who shop at Unique Like Me in Painesville help support workforce education, said store manager and job coach Nancy Neal. The store sells handmade items from 184 Main St. in Painesville and is operated by staff and students from the Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve.
“Your purchase supports our ongoing vocational training program for local students,” Neal said.
Local business owners also discussed the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown and the recovery that has followed.
“Of course COVID slowed everything down – actually at Christmas time, that was the first time people had been out of their house in 2020 for some people,” Vento said of Mosack’s. “But since then, it’s picked up and we’re doing good.”
“We were so busy when we re-opened that it was difficult to even handle the amount of business that came in,” Miller added of Bella Donna.
Neal described the difficulties caused by economic conditions in recent years.
“Since COVID – this has been really tough, tough as far as people spending money for unnecessary things, because everything else has gone up so much,” she said.
Other small business events
The business owners also discussed planned holiday events. Quick said that Our Treasures has a Christmas open house planned for Dec. 2, while Vento said that Italian nativity designer Emanuele Fontanini will visit Mosack’s on Dec. 7.
Bella Donna, Our Treasures and Unique Like Me were recently among the businesses that participated in Painesville’s Nov. 16 Holiday Shop and Stroll. The city hosted its Spirit of the Season event the following night.
“For downtown, it was a very big weekend for all of us,” Miller said.
“Both of these events went very well,” said City Manager Doug Lewis.
He added that Painesville “had probably a couple thousand people in the downtown” for Shop and Stroll.
A city news release said the event was set to include various specials from participating businesses, holiday lights and other attractions.
Quick described the appreciation that Our Treasure feels for its customers.
“We tell every customer that comes in the door and buys, we always thank them for shopping small, that we appreciate it,” she said. “That’s what keeps us going.”
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