Old Town Newhall businesses welcomed an influx of shoppers during what has become known as Small Business Saturday.
Following the annual rush of Black Friday sales the day before, Small Business Saturday is intended to recognize small businesses for their place in communities across the United States, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
First observed in 2010, the day of recognition expanded after it was initially sponsored by American Express and has grown through social media and advertising.
With multiple tweets posted by the city of Santa Clarita’s Twitter page, small businesses in Santa Clarita were included in that national recognition.
“People in Santa Clarita love to support small business,” said Carlos Marroquin, owner of Planet Soccer.
While there was many people coming through Planet Soccer from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Marroquin said the store was met with waves of around 10 shoppers every half-hour Saturday. Signs posted inside and outside of the store said that their 30-70 percent off Black Friday sales were extended for the weekend.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “The most important thing is to bring people to Newhall. It’s a 21st century shopping area.”
Further up Main Street, Voodoo Vinyl also noticed an uptick in visitors on Saturday. This was the location’s first Small Business Saturday recognizing their Newhall location since it opened last month.
“It’s definitely having events like this that help small business,” said owner Greg Pinker. “One way or another, I’ve been involved in something (related to) small business. There’s these initiatives out there to help push these things through so brick and mortar places can compete.”
With a record store or any small business, Pinker said it’s more advantageous for people to look at used items when there’s a physical storefront.
Bruce Scott walked down Main Street with his wife and parents, who were visiting from out-of-town. Stopping by each small business, Scott knew of the day’s significance. As the former owner of his own small business selling yogurt, Scott emphasized the hard work small business owners put into making their stores come to life.
“I strongly try to support small businesses,” he said. “I’ll go to the small hardware store and the small clothing store. The first choice is a small business.”
Scott added that he much preferred Small Business Saturday as the better day to shop over Black Friday.
“I’m in no hurry to get all the Black Friday deals,” he said.
