It looked like Small Business Saturday came a day early for Keisha Dockery, owner of Black & White Market in downtown Murphy.
“Friday was phenomenal. It never stopped,” Dockery said. “We were completely full (of customers) all day.”
In fact, she has checked the numbers, and weekend sales were 30 percent higher than last year during Thanksgiving weekend at the store.
Jo Anne Page, owner of 992 Main St. Consignments in downtown Andrews, said since reopening Memorial Day weekend, she’s had her best year yet in sales. Friday and Saturday were better than last year “by far.”
“We are so thankful,” Page said. “I’m thoroughly appreciative of everyone who took advantage of shopping local.”
She saw a good blend of both locals and visitors at her business, and thought a lot of people didn’t want to leave town to shop at big stores this year.
Jan Olson, who owns FernCrest Winery in downtown Andrews and is executive director of the Andrews Chamber of Commerce, has noticed that more people from out of town were visiting her business than usual.
“More and more people are renting cabins this time of year than we usually see,” Olson said.
She said Saturday was very busy in Andrews, though sales were similar to last year at her business.
Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sherry Raines noticed a lot of people shopping downtown not just Friday, but on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, too.
She was happy to see so many people taking advantage of the idea to shop local. She also ran into some visitors taking advantage of the unique finds available in small businesses.
“People feel safer in a small town than in an urban area,” Raines said.