Shopping the small businesses that stretch along Longmont and Boulder’s downtowns won’t just offer support to locally owned stores this holiday season. In the clutches of the coronavirus pandemic, business owners say traffic to their shops and restaurants may be a lifeline as months of challenges stretch ahead.
The message was one shared by shop owners and customers alike on Small Business Saturday. Up and down the streets in Longmont and Boulder, shoppers still bustled from shop to shop with bags in hand, crossing off items on their Christmas list. But with the county’s Level Red restrictions limiting retail capacity = to 50% and restaurants closed to indoor dining, the throngs of people packing shoulder to shoulder in small stores and long lines of people were absent from the scene.
At Ivy Rose Longmont, a boutique women’s clothing store, owner Rosemary Bieker said business had been steady, but wasn’t comparable to the crowds seen last year on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, which typically are the busiest days of the year for her business.
“The hard part for us is there is a mixed message: Everyone says stay home … yet, retail is at 50% capacity,” she said. “I think that’s a hard message to interpret for our customers.”
Bieker has run the boutique for the past three years and said she was taking extra precautions to keep customers safe. While the store can hold 12 people, Bieker said she was limiting capacity to six shoppers. She added that employees wore gloves in addition to their masks.
If they don’t feel safe shopping in store, Bieker said there are still ways people can support her business, including shopping online. Customers can set up a private shopping appointment before or after the boutique’s regular hours. Virtual shopping, curbside pickup and merchandise delivery are also options for shoppers.
“Shopping small business, truly, is very safe,” she said. “We can do anything from having the store to yourself and we limit the number of customers.”
With more challenges ahead for local business, Bieker said unless people want the local businesses they love to disappear, they’ve got to choose to shop small.
“(Small businesses) are what makes up downtown Longmont,” Bieker said. “I would encourage people that if they can’t come in, just share the message that we are open. If they don’t have the means to shop, let people know we are here and you like us.”
Out along Main Street Annie Wilson, of Longmont, paused in her shopping to snap a picture of an ice carving of a snowman on St. Stephen’s Plaza. The carving was one of several Longmont Downtown Development Authority initiatives in support of what was dubbed Small Business Weekend. The Longmont Symphony Orchestra also played Saturday afternoon, and artist pop-up booths were scheduled today throughout downtown.
Wilson has shopped the stores along Longmont’s Main Street on Small Business Saturday for the past two years. While she saw some bustle Saturday, it wasn’t the same as the large crowds Wilson said she’s seen in the past.
“It’s different,” Wilson said of the downtown atmosphere Saturday. “It’s a little weird.”
Wilson said she wanted to help Longmont’s local businesses stay afloat. She also shopped at some downtown stores on Black Friday, including Zen Babe, a crystal and decor shop. On her list Saturday was browsing the shelves at Barbed Wire Books.
“There’s a lot of sadness right now, so it makes my heart happy to see people walking around and doing their best to support people,” Wilson said.
Down the street, Golden Rueckert, of Longmont, waited outside Scrumptious candy shop, while his wife and 5-year-old child shopped.
“We try to make (shopping small) a point during normal times. We think it’s important,” Rueckert said. “Right now, I feel for retail. I feel for restaurants.”
Rueckert, who owns a small data company in Longmont, said he knows how important shopping small is to sustaining local operations. After eating lunch on the outdoor patio at Mike O’Shay’s, he said the family set out to get some Christmas shopping done, including buying gift cards at local businesses.
Along Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, the atmosphere was similar.
Chris Norris, owner of Heads Up, The Hat Cart, said his sales overall for the year have been down 50 to 60%. As he set out a variety of hats for the day’s business in front of the Boulder County Courthouse, Norris said he felt optimistic about Small Business Saturday.
“I’m not expecting big things, but I would be surprised if it wasn’t a very worthwhile day,” Norris said.
Shopping small businesses, he said, will be crucial to local operations’ survival.
“It makes a difference,” he said. “If we succumb, it’s hard to say what will take our place.”
Not far from Norris’ hat cart, Christina Wardell, manager of Where the Buffalo Roam, watched customers stream in and out of the commemorative Boulder and Colorado gift shop on the Pearl Street Mall.
“Yesterday (Black Friday) was a good day, not super-slammed but nice and steady,” Wardell said.
While she said things had been slow as of 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Wardell said things tend to pick up in the afternoon. Over the past couple of months, Wardell said the shop has seen a lot of loyalty from customers, who want to see the business continue to survive.
“I think we bring something to the community,” Wardell said. “We put our heart and soul into every design we have and everything we do.”
"local" - Google News
November 29, 2020 at 10:19AM
https://ift.tt/3mmRI48
Longmont, Boulder businesses: Shopping local crucial to survival of local restaurants, stores - Boulder Daily Camera
"local" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WoMCc3
https://ift.tt/2KVQLik
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Longmont, Boulder businesses: Shopping local crucial to survival of local restaurants, stores - Boulder Daily Camera"
Post a Comment