Main Street shops enjoy crowds on Small Business Saturday
Shopkeepers along Main Street in downtown Belleville said they enjoyed seeing throngs of customers for the Small Business Saturday promotion.
The event happens on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving in an effort to support small business owners.
People who shop and dine with small businesses can help keep Main Streets across the country alive, said Bennie Parr Jr., owner of Bennie’s Pizza Pub at 124 E. Main St. in downtown Belleville.
“Our downtown has come such a long way,” said Parr, who opened his pub last year.
“It helps entrepreneurs like myself who want to take a chance at being a business owner, keeping our dreams alive,” Parr said.
And shopkeepers such as Parr get credit from the Small Business Administration for boosting the U.S. economy.
“More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and small businesses create about two-thirds of new jobs in the U.S. each year,” according to a statement from the Small Business Administration
For Andria Powell, running a small business has allowed her to reinvest in her downtown shop.
Fifteen years ago, Powell opened Circa Boutique + Gifts at 128 E. Main St. in downtown Belleville and this year she and her family have done a massive renovation of the front of the store.
“Shopping at a small shop, you’re keeping your money in your community,” Powell said.
“We put our money back into the community, we shop local, we hire local all the way from accounting to office supplies. Everything that we purchase stays local.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 3:06 PM.
