Small Business Saturday is every year the day after Black Friday and falls on Nov. 25 this year. Community members walk around Homewood and Flossmoor’s shopping districts, taking advantage of extended store hours, free snacks and discounts at participating local businesses.
“When you shop local, it stays local. It goes to your schools. It goes to the park district, and it improves your area – as opposed to shopping at a big box store or shopping online,” said Maureen Mader, Flossmoor Business Association president and owner of Dunning’s Market, referring to sales taxes collected by Homewood and Flossmoor’s small businesses.
This year, participating businesses in the Homewood Business Association are set to provide a limited quantity of free black, reusable, shopping bags that say “Shop Small” in yellow, red, green, blue and white font.
will be available at participating Homewood Business Association stores on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25.
(Nick Ulanowski/H-F Chronicle)
Dunning’s Market & Deli in downtown Flossmoor will provide bingo cards offering community members an opportunity to win Flossmoor Business Association gift baskets, Mader said.
The bingo cards will have a list of Flossmoor Business Association businesses and actions to take – such as spending a certain amount or purchasing a product, Mader said. The gift baskets are set to include products and gift cards donated by participating businesses.
“[Bingo] cards will be submitted to Dunning’s Market, and we will have a drawing on Dec. 29,” Mader said.
The village of Flossmoor has its holiday tree lighting ceremony in downtown Flossmoor on Small Business Saturday.
Participating downtown Flossmoor stores, especially those in the Flossmoor Business Association, will put up their holiday lights and extend their hours until 8 p.m. There will be live entertainment in downtown Flossmoor that could include carolers, a music performance and/or a DJ, Mader said.
LouLou Belle, a boutique shop in downtown Homewood, will open early and provide coffee and donuts to customers, co-owner Dodi Wians said.
Product Freak, a beauty supply store that was in Flossmoor Commons before moving to Shops on Sterling in downtown Flossmoor, is offering early bird discounts, owner Kristi Dinkins said.
Art Corner Frames, an art supply and frame shop on Dixie Highway in Homewood, will have their Plinko game out for customers to play, owner Stephanie Becker said.
(Provided image)
“You put a ball in at the top of it and it goes into a drawer at the bottom. And the drawer is what tells you what kind of prize you win,” Becker said, describing Plinko.
The prizes will include candy, books and art supplies.
GypsyFix, a boutique shop and women’s clothing store in downtown Flossmoor, will have discounts on all clothes and will premier this year’s Christmas-themed products, owner Morgan Sullins said.
Healthy Hounds Canine & Feline Nutrition, a pet owner supply store in downtown Flossmoor, will offer discounts on all treats, owner Mathew Gallagher said.
Conservatory Vintage & Vinyl, a used record and furniture store in downtown Flossmoor, will offer discounts on select furniture and home décor items. De Anna Love, the owner of Black Amor Candles, a handcrafted candle boutique, will be present.
Thairapy Beauty & Wellness, a hair salon and spa in downtown Flossmoor, is offering manicures and pedicures at discounted rates, owner Rita Barnes said. She’s also offering hair braiding for kids at a discounted price.
This season, pedicures at Thairapy include aromatherapy of pumpkin spice or apple cider spice scents.
All The Smoke, a smoke shop in Flossmoor Commons, will have a discount on selected glass pipes, water pipes and vapes, owner Cameron Payette said.
Wake-N-Bakery, a bakery and coffee shop that sells THC and CBD-infused food and drinks in downtown Homewood, is offering free pastries with the purchase of select drinks.
“There are four levels [of THC dosage in drinks]. If you get the second, third or fourth highest then you get the deal,” said Jamari Ford, general manager of the shop.
Wake-N-Bakery used to only use Delta-8 THC, a psychoactive chemical derived from the hemp plant but now has “regular” Delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis.
Ford said Wake-N-Bakery sees many new faces the week of Thanksgiving, giving the example of regular customers bringing their cousins to the café.
The Rock Shop, a record and book store in downtown Homewood, will extend its hours until 7 p.m., co-owner Laura Bruni said.
Wingspan Society, a fine jewelry store that shares the space with the Rock Shop, will premier new gold bracelets and rings and offer discounts on select items.
Wingspan owner Ashley Zagotta described Small Business Saturday as “part of what makes Homewood great,” adding that Homewood is “everyone’s favorite hometown.”
Zone Comics & Games, a comic book and gaming supplies store in downtown Homewood, will offer discounts on all graphic novels, manga, statues and Funko pops, owner Alex Stritar said.
Through Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, Zone will offer discounts on comic book back issues. There will be a smaller discount on the back issues in the store’s organized, wooden boxes. These are mostly older comic books – some dating back to the 1990s. But there will be a “mega sale” on the back issues in the unsorted, cardboard boxes, Stritar said. These are mostly newer comic books and they will be priced at next to nothing.
In previous years, comic book fans from all around the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana have traveled to Zone on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday to dig through the back issue boxes, searching for gems.
Epiq Nutrition, a smoothie, weight loss and nutrition shop in downtown Homewood, will have sales and pop-up vendors selling ornaments and holiday décor, owner Erbey Solis said. Store hours will be extended. While they usually close at 3 p.m., on Small Business Saturday, they will close at 5 p.m.