Saturday, November 29 is National Small Business Saturday. With the holiday season upon us, this is a great opportunity to highlight Niagara Falls’ small businesses and encourage residents and visitors to shop local.
The economic impact of locally owned businesses is anything but small. Every dollar spent locally is an investment in Niagara Falls. Our purchases help preserve local jobs and create new ones. The owners and employees behind the counter are your neighbors and friends. They are same people we ask to support local causes, and consistently answer the call.
Homegrown businesses simply offer something that others cannot; authenticity. No chain restaurant has the natural charm of the Marketside, Mom’s Family Restaurant, Richardson’s BBQ or Donatello’s. Big box stores do not compare with the expertise of DeFranco True Value Hardware, Beeton’s Safe & Lock Company or the Book Corner. Every business is one of a kind, providing value that cannot be recreated in an online promotion or midnight sale.
Let’s show these businesses that Niagara Falls appreciates their hard work and dedication on November 29 and beyond. Niagara Falls Community Development has teamed up with the Niagara Hub, the Niagara USA Chamber, Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce, Park Place Market, Old Falls Street and the Downtown, Main Street, Niagara Street, and Pine Avenue Business Associations to feature local businesses throughout the city. The goals are connecting customers to businesses and getting people together. Thanks to grants from the Niagara USA Chamber Shop Niagara Program, our business associations are able to advertise the day’s events. The Niagara Falls City Council has also joined the effort, designating November 29 – December 6 as Small Business Week in Niagara Falls.
We will start our community’s Small Business Saturday with artisan vendors at the Park Place Market, 640 Park Place, at 10 am, and are getting people together for a “Small Business Social” at the Topper Social Club, 492 19th Street, at 4 pm, and checking out local music with the organizers of Silver Saturday, in support of Heart and Soul Food Pantry, at Kelly’s Corner, 524 Cayuga Avenue, at 6 pm. The entire community is more than welcome to attend. Saturday is the perfect opportunity to go to your favorite spot, try out a new one, or both. Sharing photos on social media, using the hashtags #ShopSmall and #LiveNF, is another way to help advertise our small businesses.
Every day, there are new stories about Black Friday expanding into Thanksgiving dinner while the big box stores never seem to close. On Saturday November 29, let’s offer a local alternative, complete with fewer lines and hometown service. Shopping small is the perfect way to start the holiday season in Niagara Falls.
Seth Piccirillo is the Director of Community Development and a Niagara Falls resident.
Leave a Reply