Small Business Saturday on Grand Ave in St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Small Business Saturday is a day to support your local businesses. As some may say, they’re the backbone of the community. 

“I’ve stopped at a few places. We went to Agharta Records and Bailey Brothers Records and Shag Salon. That’s where I got this jacket,” said Shopper Hunter Henley.

Henley made sure to shop locally on Small Business Saturday one item at a time.

At Mischief in St. Paul, they have toys for everyone from birth to 99-years-old. 

“We like to keep things in business owned by, you know, individuals in our neighborhood. So we like to do that, and it’s close by our house too,” said shopper Steve Meinz.

Shopping locally means deal after deal. Mischief even had specials like 20% off of everything you can fit in a stocking, which made for affordable gifts and steady foot traffic.

“I started at around maybe 2:30 to 3 p.m. this afternoon and has been steady since I got here,” said Lacy Hanson, Sales Associate at Mischief.

“I think that coming in here, we have the option to knock off so many people off our list,” said Henley.

For new business owners in the area, Small Business Saturday is an opportunity to show the community what they have to offer. Like Baking Betty’s was once at The Mall of America. But now it’s on a strip on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, looking to warm people’s taste buds with cookies.

“I wasn’t sure what today was going to look like now that we’re in a, like, a more of a local neighborhood, so, but it’s been amazing today. So it exceeded my expectations,” said the owner of Baking Betty’s, Emily Osterberg. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration estimates that when you spend $100 at a small business, $48 stays in the community.