Shop Small is a nationwide movement to celebrate small businesses every day and to help communities thrive and stay vibrant. As a consumer, you’re a key part in helping small businesses thrive. By shopping or dining at small businesses throughout the year, you’re showing your support for the small businesses in your neighborhood and in the community that you call your own.
Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities across the country. Founded by American Express in 2010 at the height of the economic recession, this day is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In 2011, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution in support of the day, and officials in all fifty states participated. Since it started in 2010, consumers have reported spending an estimated $103 billion across all Small Business Saturdays combined.
This year, SBS falls on November 30th—the 10th annual Small Business Saturday. The day has gone from a cause to one of community celebration.
At Gramercy Books, we encourage you to visit us for your holiday shopping. We’ll have hourly drawings for fun prizes while you browse our books and unique holiday gifts. And you’ll enjoy 20% off all puzzles that day! Know that the dollars you spend at Gramercy Books allow us to make donations to all kinds of local community fundraisers—we’ve supported our local school fairs and PTOs, the Bexley Chamber of Commerce, the Bexley Education Foundation’s BRAVO event, college service projects, and Pelotonia’s Team Bexley, among others. So, we re-invest your local dollars, locally!
People often ask me how we—as an independent bookstore—are doing, since Amazon and online shopping are ubiquitous. I admit that I, too, purchase items from Amazon, but usually they are items I cannot get here in Columbus and certainly not items I can get in my neighborhood. I understand and appreciate the convenience of online shopping. But, brick-and-mortar shops like Gramercy Books provide a service and an experience; they pay rent and staff. You can browse in our physical store to your heart’s delight. You can ask our knowledgeable booksellers for book recommendations. We bring the community wonderful author talks and book-related programming, usually for no fee. We’re a haven; a place for inspiration, conversation, and discovery. We even have a friendly dog named Wally who nestles up to visitors.
So, come, visit us, and visit other local retailers, on Saturday, November 30th. You will be sure to find a face-to-face sense of community and you just might get all your holiday shopping done as well!
Written by Linda Kass
About the author: I began my career as a magazine writer and correspondent for regional and national publications and am now an assistant editor for Narrative, an online literary magazine. My debut novel, Tasa’s Song, was inspired by my mother’s early life in eastern Poland during the Second World War. It won a Bronze Medal for Historical Fiction from the Independent Publisher Award Program and was a 2016 Foreword INDIES Award Finalist. I am also the proud owner of Gramercy Books, serving all of central Ohio!
Learn more about me on my personal website.