- April 29, 2024
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Credit Card promotion kept local shops busy.
News reports showed crowds swarming into the large “big box” and department stores on Thanksgiving weekend, but small, locally-owned businesses were also busy. They were helped by American Express and their Small Business Saturday promotion.
“We were mobbed,” said Patti Surguine, owner of Granada Gourmet, a kitchen supplies and gift shop in Granada Plaza, at the corner of State Road A1A and East Granada Boulevard.
Even though the crowds were large, she said it was a pleasant atmosphere, with none of the chaos seen at some other stores. When people are standing in line, she and her sales people give them advice about their purchases or talk about other products.
She said they have taken part in the Small Business Saturday promotion for each of its three years, and it has always been one of the biggest days of the year for them.
“It puts small businesses in the spotlight and that’s what we need,” Surguine said. “It’s an amazing program.”
In the promotion, American Express credits their card holders a certain amount per purchase for shopping at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
She said she wished other credit card companies would do the same thing, perhaps in the spring.
American Express supplied her with gift bags for give-ways, stickers and a welcome mat. She was also on their map on their website. She promoted the day with her email newsletter and also on Facebook, and on the day of the event, she has food and door prizes.
A couple of the more popular items, she said, were a chef’s knife and a paring knife, made by Wusthof, which were discounted for the day.
Adornments, in Fountain Square Shopping Village on East Granada Boulevard, was also busy.
“We’ve been slammed all day,” said owner Laurie Schammel.
“I plan ahead. I go to the American Express website and let them know we’re participating.”
Schammel and her staff served a champagne punch on Saturday and offered extra discounts. She also promoted the event on Facebook and email “blasts.”
She said it’s important to let people know the store is locally owned.
“As a small business, we connect with customers,” she said. “We’re not ‘mom and pop,’ we’re just ‘mom.’”
Jeff Sidwell at Bon! Gourmet, 44 E. Granada Blvd., which sells wines, cheese, and gourmet pantry goods, said business was steady all day. In addition to the American Express promotion, he also had drop-ins from the antique car show at Fortunato Park.
He said he didn’t think that American Express had promoted it as much as in the past but, “it was good.”
Normally, he has wine tastings only on Friday, but also had one on Saturday for the promotion.
New store opens in Granada Plaza
Artsy Abode, which sells home décor, jewelry and gifts, opened Nov. 25 in Granada Plaza. There is an Artsy Abode in Volusia Mall, as well as several other locations throughout north Florida. They are all owned by Leah Lytle of Jacksonville.
Granada Plaza was extensively remodeled this year, and Tom Corso of Charles Wayne Properties Inc., manager of the plaza, said it is attracting the attention of businesses.
“We are very happy to add another quality retailer such as Artsy Abode to our list of tenants,” he said.
