Small Business Saturday brings patrons to Downtown Lodi
In the early Saturday afternoon sun, Daniel Hagele and Marisela Bernal sat at one of the outside tables at Tillie’s Fine Food & Coffee Company in Downtown Lodi.
Hagele was playing chess with Wally Condon, who had brought his own chess board. They had previously met when Hagele and Condon played chess at the nearby Weibel Winery tasting room. On Saturday, Hagele and Bernal had come out to support local businesses for Small Business Saturday, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a game of chess when they found Condon.
Prior to the game, Bernal had visited The Local Collective, her favorite store.
“We just love Downtown Lodi,” Bernal said. “And I am always here and I am always shopping around, and going by every single little business, and I just love the environment and the people, so that’s why I was excited about Small Business Saturday,” she said with a smile.
With businesses struggling to stay afloat in the face of government-imposed restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the importance of supporting local small businesses has been magnified this holiday season.
Boxwood Finch on Lockeford Street had several customers browsing their display of Christmas decorations and other decorative items. One of the customers was Lodian Lisa Mayfield, who this year made a point of shopping all local. She was purchasing a gold, star-shaped candle holder, and some gifts for family. All her Christmas presents this year will be bought locally, she said.
“I am not shopping anywhere else for Christmas,” she said.
Tammy Tucker, the owner of her own small business — Portraits by Tammy — was also at the store buying Christmas gifts to show her support of local merchants. She said she appreciates the community’s loyalty to local businesses.
“It’s very important that I support small businesses, because I know how, especially in these times, it’s just so appreciated,” she said.
“It’s been crazy,” Rob Quach
nick said Saturday afternoon while standing in his festively decorated thrift shop on Stockton’s Miracle Mile.
Quachnick and his family have owned Puffy’s Thrift Mercantile since June. Both his daughter Katie and wife Grace were also working in the shop — which benefits small local animal rescues — for Small Business Saturday.
“We’re tired. Puffy’s tired. She’s like, ‘I’m out of here,’ ” Quachnick said with a laugh while holding the store’s white and fluffy canine namesake who also made an appearance for the annual retail holiday.
Though it started during the pandemic, Quachnick said his thrift shop has already been feeling the love.
“The community support on the Miracle Mile for us and for this business has been incredible,” Quachnick said. “We have a lot of regular customers that are very generous and really enjoy just having a place to come and be that is a sense of normality and community.”
But Quachnick says events like this are important for small business owners, who live and die by community support.
“Having people come in, having people shop and being able to see the people that are normal shoppers in your store, but also to generate some new business,” Quachnick said. “I think it’s great when our people bring in their friends and want to show us off. We’re really proud.”