Courtney Cefaratti had no interest in Black Friday shopping. She’s not big on Cyber Monday either. She wasn’t looking for a great deal or steep discounts.
Saturday morning, she walked into Sunshine and Bluebirds gift shop on Elmwood Avenue to find a present for her friends’ baby shower.
She found just the right thing for the future Bills fan – a Zubaz-print sleeper and matching swaddling cloth.
“The spirit is in the air,” she said, as an a cappella rendition of “Jingle Bells” played inside the shop.
On Small Business Saturday, the Elmwood Village – known for its independent stores, coffeehouses and restaurants – was bustling with activity.
In 2010, American Express came up with the idea of Small Business Saturday, to support the mom-and-pop shops and locally owned stores that can get overlooked by mega-sales at big-box stores during the holiday season.
Therese Deutschlander, board president of the Elmwood Village Association and owner of the Thin Ice gift shop, said Small Business Saturday and the holiday season itself are critical to the businesses in the district.
It’s also a lot of fun, she said.
“A lot of people make it a tradition,” she said.
Shopping on Elmwood Avenue is nothing like going to the mall or a major retail outlet, Deutschlander said. People walk outside, going from store to store to find unusual gifts. They meet the store owners and even the artisans who make the crafts. In between, they pop into one of the many coffee shops or have a nice lunch. They’re there for the experience, not the doorbuster deals.
Her store was filled with customers Saturday morning, perusing silly gifts – like socks with butter lambs and Bison dip on them. A clerk in a Santa hat bounced to the music playing.
Joanne Chmiel, her husband and six others were among the shoppers. They were visiting from Pittsburgh. They had come to watch the Penguins play the Sabres on Friday. They were disappointed by their team’s…
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