Saturday is the day to focus on small businesses
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Hundreds of businesses offered deals and promotions for Small Business Saturday, a day to support and shop at small local businesses.
In Grand Rapids, multiple shops came together to hold events for the community. The Christmas on the Westside Shop Hop was back this year. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., 12 local businesses held special offers, live music and more.
One of the stores participating was Shakedown Street. It’s a shop on Leonard Street that’s been around since 1992. The shop offers novelty clothes, smoke products and handmade soaps and jewelry. One of the main attractions at the store is their cat, Casey Jones, who can be seen sleeping around the shop.
Joey Krzeminski, an employee at Shakedown Street, said they have been a part of the shop hop event since it started and that shopping locally helps give back to the people in your neighborhood.
“You’re not just like supporting somebody who is like it’s not the money hardly even reaches, you know, a big corporation. You’re actually like supporting people in your neighborhood, somebody you run into at the grocery store and also creates a sense of community to support your small businesses,” Krzeminski said.
There was also another event at Baxter Community Center celebrating Black-owned businesses in Grand Rapids. The event featured 20 vendors, live music and story time with Santa.
Shea Butter Cups was one of the businesses at the event. The shop offers different shea butters, lotions and soaps. Tahleekah Partee-Young, the owner of shop, said by supporting small Black-owned businesses, you could help them grow into something bigger.
“There’s something special about small business, you know, because it’s like we put our love into it,” Partee-Young said. “I hope to grow [my business], but it’s small enough that I get to put my detail into it. My time and my energy and so you really get a better quality product sometimes by shopping local.”
The Small Business Saturday Black-Owned Pop Up Shop went from 12 p.m. to
