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ALTON - Shoppers came out to support locally owned businesses over the weekend during Small Business Saturday.
Business owners all around Alton said it was great to see the amount of people who come out on Small Business Saturday to show their support by shopping local.
“It’s been a great today,” Felicia Breen of Mississippi Mud Pottery said. “We have a lot of great support today. The energy level and the number of people, we’re small, we’re small and it’s almost hard to get people checked out efficiently, so that’s pretty exciting. When you shop local your dollars stay local, everything raised stays local.”
Julie Meeks of Olive Oil Marketplace said Small Business Saturday and the coming days before Christmas are always important to her business with her husband, Tim. The couple also owns a location in Belleville.
“Small Business Saturday and the holidays are always big for us,” she said. “We offer a lot of Christmas gifts for customers. We have a lot of customers who have medical issues or are health conscious.”
Olive Oil Marketplace is known for its dressings, pastas and gluten free area and much more. Right now, for the holidays, those shopping there will find several discounts for purchase of two items that make great Christmas gifts.
Sara McGibany, executive director of Alton Main Street, said Small Business Saturday and the days before Christmas are always important to the Downtown Alton businesses and small businesses in the area in general.
“It's important to recognize days like Small Business Saturday," McGibany said. "We had 40 different vendors, all environmentally friendly, at the 15th Annual Green Gift Bazaar. We encourage everybody to shop local and think local first. Shopping local helps drive and support our community. These stores offer the same things and much better personalized customer service.”
Indira Hulker, of Sherry’s Snacks, agreed that support from the community had been great throughout the day and added that it’s amazing to see neighbors support each other and encourage one another to pursue the American dream.
Kelly Olmsted, owner of the Grapevine, said the day is a great chance for businesses to thank their customers as well with fun things like photos with Santa.
“It’s kind of a way to show our appreciation to the customers that show their support all through the year,” Olmsted said. “ It’s been a great day. It’s been really busy. People have been saying they’ve been hitting all the shops up and down the street.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
