State Street in Newtown
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Most people who step foot inside a small business in Bristol Borough, Doylestown, Newtown Borough. New Hope or any Bucks County community can immediately recognize the atmospheric difference between the little guys and the big box stores.
This past Saturday, small businesses received a boost thanks to American Express’ Small Business Saturday campaign. The day after Black Friday shifted the focus from national brands to the small mom-and-pop shops that help keep local economies moving forward.
“It’s a great initiative, and we really try to participate in it,” J.P. Lutz, who owns Bucks County Baseball Cards with his dad, said of Small Business Saturday.
The day is aimed at spurring local business on Saturday and throughout the holiday shopping season.
The Newtown Book and Record Exchange had a very busy day as people came in throughout Small Business Saturday. “It’s great to see our local people out and about, and even better, supporting businesses,” said Bobbie Lewis, who has owned the record shop for 35 years. He said the store was busy throughout Small Business Saturday, a trend he hopes continues.
“It’s a little bit of a struggle to compete with the big guys, so having a day dedicated to us is nice,” said Andy Waskie, one of the owners of Alternate Dimension Toys in Newtown. He also said that small businesses often work a little harder for their customers than big box stores might do.
“I think that a lot of big box companies don’t support their customers the way that we do,” said Jack Lopez, the owner of Comix Relief on Mill Street in Bristol.
Although the store just recently moved to Mill Street in October, Lopez says that he moved the store there specifically for the sense of community that he can help build and be a part of on Mill Street.
“Especially near the holidays, people want to shop where they know the people in charge,” Lopez said.
“I think (small business) is really the foundation of family,” said Joe Stanley, the owner of Nameless Prints on Bristol Borough’s Mill Street. “It’s a natural flow of a community economy.”
Stanley explained how he will eat at local restaurants that in turn come to him for shirts, keeping money in the local economy.
Keeping shopping local and supporting one another is a major tenet of small businesses. When the community supports each other, business owners believe that service and quality will also increase, many of the small business owners NewtownPANow.com talked to recently said.
“(Small business) is a part of being sewn into the fabric of the community,” Lutz said.
