EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – If you’re getting ready to hit the stores for Black Friday, you’re not alone; but local businesses hope you’ll save some of your shopping for the next day, Small Business Saturday.
“This is our busiest weekend of the year every year. So yeah, lots of prep going into it. We just opened the new store in Eastland Mall like three weeks ago,” said Heather Vaught, owner of River City Goods in the mall.
Along with the new location, Vaught owns downtown Main Street businesses River City Coffee & Goods and Memo, a stationary shop. Vaught says she’s been busy stocking the shelves and building up inventory in preparation for Saturday.
“I think at this point we’re pretty well as ready to go as we’re going to be,” Vaught said.
The business owner says she hopes people shop local this weekend –just like she does.
“A lot of our stuff here promotes the city of Evansville and is handmade by local or tri-state people,” Vaught added.
And that’s one reason why Small Business Saturday was founded in 2010, to encourage shoppers to include “mom-and-pop shops” in their holiday shopping plans.
Vaught isn’t the only local business owner getting ready for Saturday’s rush.
Hometown Nutrition has increased its inventory and is adding several pop-up shops inside their location on the corner of Main and 3rd streets.
“One of them is actually my mom’s business. She has a charcuterie business that she’s going to come in and sell some little cups that have her stuff in it,” Owner Lainie Grubbs said. “I have a t-shirt business as well, so we’ll have that in here and then just we’ll be running deals here at Hometown too.”
Vaught says shops lining Main Streets across the country need consumers to buy local in order to stay alive.
“Talking to most local businesses this year, it’s been a really rough year for a lot of us and we’ve even seen some close their doors,” she said.
According to Downtown Evansville’s website, free ‘Shop Small’ bags, buttons and maps will be given out in front of 318 Main Street beginning at 10 a.m. this Saturday.
There will also be free hot chocolate.
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