You can support small retailers by joining me and your neighbors on the fifth annual national Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28.
Skip the national chain stores’ annual Black Friday madness, which now starts early Thursday night. Some stores are open all day. Thanksgiving Day should be a time to be with loved ones and family. More and more stores remind me of the Grinch in staying open, resulting in too many employees having to choose between family and work. The dishonor roll for 2015 of stores open on Thanksgiving include Best Buy, JCPenney, Kmart, Kohl’s, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, Michaels, Modell’s, Old Navy, Sears, Target, Toys“R”Us and Walmart.
Small Business Saturday began on Nov. 27, 2010 in response to both Black Friday (large stores) and Cyber Monday (e-commerce stores). Small Business Saturday is designed for those starting holiday shopping to patronize small, along with local community-based, businesses.
Give P.C. Richard credit for being the first major store to close on Thanksgiving Day. This year, the honor role includes Barnes & Noble, BJ’s, Costco, DSW, Home Depot, IKEA, Jo-Ann, Marshalls, Nordstrom, Petco, Pier 1 Imports, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sam’s Club and Staples. They are putting aside financial greed in favor of closing and allowing their employees to stay home with family. Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal with friends and family. Get a good night’s sleep and instead come out and support small businesses by shopping locally.
In these difficult economic times, it is especially important to patronize your neighborhood businesses. There are so many great options to choose from all along Middle Neck Road, from Great Neck Plaza to Kings Point. Don’t forget Great Neck Road and Northern Boulevard as well.
Remember these people are our neighbors. They work long hours, pay taxes and provide local employment. If we don’t patronize our local community stores and restaurants to shop and eat, they don’t eat either.
Please join me and your neighbors in continuing to support our Great Neck Record. Patronize their advertisers; they provide the necessary revenues to help keep them in business. Let them know you saw their ad. This helps keep our neighbors employed and the local economy growing.
Larry Penner
