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Mr. and Mrs. Claus make the rounds downtown
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Downtown businesses hope for holiday push
By Leigh Anne Butler
The Christmas shopping season is officially underway. Small business owners in Tallassee need local shoppers to patronize their businesses during these final weeks of shopping before Christmas.
Construction on the Benjamin Fitzpatrick Bridge and the Downtown Street Scape Project have created more than just traffic issues in the downtown area. Road closures, detours and traffic delays have impacted the ability for customers to be able to shop at some downtown merchants.
With both construction projects nearing competition, ease of accessing some of the downtown businesses has improved.
“Sistrunk and James Street both have the initial layer of asphalt completed, making traveling on these streets so much easier,” Kami Scarborough, owner of New Stone Realty and Sistrunk, All Things Desired said.
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Christmas decorations adorn the downtown district
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Both of Scarborough’s businesses are located on Sistrunk Street in the downtown area that has been under construction for months.
“A lot of local businesses, including my boutique, stock unique items you are not going to find in other stores,” Scarborough continued. “Many of our items have been curated to suit local needs and tastes. We also carry a lot of handmade items. I would urge everyone to consider patronizing our local, hometown merchants this Christmas season.”
Jerry Cunningham, executive director of the Tallassee Chamber of Commerce mentioned, “For every $100 spent locally with a small business, $68 of the economic contribution stays local.”
It is estimated around 25 percent of local businesses in the United States close because of low sales. If Tallassee citizens want this disheartening statistic to change and want to keep local businesses open, the answer is simple; the more you shop locally, the fewer the businesses that will have to shut down.
As a community, Tallassee can work together towards creating a great local business culture and economy. Try to patronize the businesses that support your children when they are fundraising for school or athletic activities. Patronize the business owners who sit next to you at church. These business owners are your friends, and they need your support.
Remember when you shop locally, you are supporting a family. The money you spend will help a parent feed their family, which will re-circulate in the community.
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