Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Renee Epps of Boney’s House of Groom showed off the horse Bourbon in downtown Washington in this file photo from 2018, when pony rides were offered for Small Business Saturday.
Small Business Saturday2
In this 2018 photo, Gerri Talerico, left, and Debbie Talerico, who operate the Talerico gallery in Washington, make adjustments to a display during Small Business Saturday.
Brad Hundt/ Observer-Reporter
MONONGAHELA – A rainy and gray Saturday tailor-made for an afghan, cup of hot chocolate and football game on the flat screen might have kept some customers away from stores participating in Small Business Saturday in this region, even as some business owners said foot traffic was nonetheless more robust than a typical Saturday.
“We’ve had a better-than-usual Saturday,” said Renee Teck, who co-owns From the Top Music Shop in Monongahela with her husband, Bill Teck.
Guitars have been big sellers this year, she explained, noting “we’re lucky enough to have local people support us.”
Across Monongahela’s Main Street at DeVore Hardware, owner Don DeVore stated “the weather isn’t the greatest, but otherwise it’s been pretty brisk.”
The two stores in Monongahela were among the hundreds of small businesses across the country participating in Small Business Saturday, an event launched in 2010 by American Express in order to celebrate small, local, brick-and-mortar enterprises that have to compete with both the big-box behemoths and e-commerce during the holiday shopping crush. Last year, Small Business Saturday was the 17th-best revenue day in Pennsylvania, according to the website womply.com.
Claysville, Canonsburg, Peters Township and Waynesburg also had businesses participating in Small Business Saturday. More than 20 businesses were due to participate in Washington. The Marketplace at Emerald Valley teamed up with Boney’s House of Groom, a Scenery Hill business, to offer pony rides at Washington’s downtown pavilion. Things had been a little slow by lunchtime, according to Renee Epps of Boney’s House of Groom.
“There’s not as many (customers) as we would have expected because of the weather,” Epps explained. “But we’re happy to be here.”
Meanwhile, at Talerico’s, a gallery on East Wheeling Street in Washington, co-owner Gerri Talerico said business had been good.
“We’ve found business has picked up a little bit this year,” she said.
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