Chevelles 66 has had its ups and downs over the last several months, from the COVID-19 shutdown until today, but through it all the owners have been trying to do things for the surrounding community.
That community spirit is continuing through the Christmas season as the restaurant hosts a Holiday Market.
“We are a small town, and when the community is thriving, we all thrive,” said Thea Belle Butler, who came up with the market idea for her family’s restaurant. “I saw the frustration among artists in this community. Several of the fairs and festivals where they sold their art had been canceled. I wanted to provide a space where the community could shop local and support small businesses.”
The market will be open from 5-8 p.m. Thursdays and noon-3 p.m. Saturdays in December. It will be outside, along the side of building, and may snake around to the back, with room for about 20 vendors with social distancing.
Butler said she wants the local Holiday Market to feel like big open markets she visited in Raleigh. She plans to have food, coffee, hot cocoa and music if possible.
The restaurant on Hiwassee Street in downtown Murphy isn’t the only one working to help small businesses. Saturday is Small Business Saturday, and Andrews is going all out for the day, while Murphy plans to draw people to shop over several days.
Parading in Andrews
At 3 p.m. Saturday, Main Street will be closed to traffic for the Andrews Chamber of Commerce’s Shop Where Your Heart Is event. The street will be closed to make it easier for shoppers to go from business to business as well as to begin the process of rerouting traffic for the parade that night.
Jan Olson, executive director of the chamber, said even though many businesses saw an uptick in shoppers this fall, businesses aren’t near where they normally are this time of year. That makes shopping local more important as we head into winter months.
“We want people to shop local as much as possible,” Olson said. “I don’t think we’ll be in the black on Black Friday. It’s hard to make up for three months of closure.”
Businesses along Main Street offer a variety of items, including books, textiles, fishing gear and other treasures. Breweries and wineries will also be open.
Saturday will end with the Magic on Main Electric Christmas Parade starting at 5:30 p.m. To make the parade safer, parade marshals will be handing out bags of candy along the route instead of allowing participants to throw candy at parade-goers.
Olson hopes families will be able to socially distance themselves from others along the parade route, which runs from Andrews First Baptist Church to Ingles. She advised everyone to arrive early to find the perfect spot to watch the parade.
As of last week, the parade had about 20 entries – all expected to be decorated with lights – signed up for the annual parade. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch the parade via WKRK on Facebook Live, with radio station owner Tim Radford and Cherokee Scout Publisher/Editor David Brown providing commentary.
The grand marshal is Jesus Jimenez, owner of 2019 Business of the Year Monte Alban Mexican Restaurante. Olson said he was an all-around good choice because of his longevity in the community, the number of people he employs and his efforts to open a third location in the area.
“What more can you say?” Olson said. “He just seemed like the logical choice.”
For details, visit visitandrewsnc.com.
Murphy scavenger hunt
The Murphy Business Association is encouraging small business shopping over 12 days in December with a scavenger hunt.
“We wanted to make sure that even though we were not able to have our normal events that draw thousands to downtown, that there was still a reason to come downtown and enjoy the festive holiday spirit that makes Murphy so special to us,” said Wayne Peacock, president of the association.
Murphy will not have its usual Christmas parade nor a public tree-lighting ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the decorated tree will still shine brightly in downtown through the season.
For the scavenger hunt, businesses downtown will have ornaments representing the 12 days of Christmas, and shoppers will have to find each of the 12 ornaments, post their find on social media and make a purchase at the store. Each $10 purchase will be one entry for a prize drawing. The shopping event begins Friday, Dec. 4, and prizes will be awarded Friday, Dec. 18.
“I think this year, more than any other year, it was very important to let shoppers know downtown was open, prepared and ready for business,” Peacock said. For details, visit verymurphychristmas.com.
Window decorations
Both towns will also hold storefront decorating contests over the next month.
In Andrews, judging for best decorations will be done from Dec. 9-11 at night. Windows will be judged on Creativity, Best Use of Lights, Design, Workmanship and Originality. To enter or for details, email director@andrewschamber.com.
To the west, the Light Up Murphy Contest begins today, so register to win prizes. Judging will be held Friday, Dec. 18.