Local Kane stores embrace Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday might seem like Black Friday’s baby brother and Cyber Monday’s second cousin twice removed. But to local small businesses, it’s a chance to shine for a more personal audience.

American Express started the promotion 15 years ago to encourage people to shop at small, locally owned businesses after Black Friday’s big-box bargains and before clicking on Cyber Monday’s online retail world.

“It’s an opportunity to show our customers what small businesses are about,” said Roxanne Osborne, co-owner of Harvey’s Tales, a bookstore at 216 James St. in Geneva. “We can show what the variety is that we have to offer as opposed to shopping online.”

The bookstore is working with two other Geneva businesses, Crystal Life Technology, 121 S. Third St., and GrowGeneva, 220 S. Third St., to offer a passport for prizes, Osborne said.

“If you visit each of our three stores and buy something from each for $10 or less, you will be entered into a drawing to win three groups of prizes,” Osborne said.

The stores also will offer treats to passport customers – gingerbread cookies at Harvey’s Tales, a savory treat from GrowGeneva and a beverage from Crystal Life Technology , she said.

The passport rules are on Instagram.

This is Harvey’s Tales’ seventh year in business.

“We’re super excited to still be here,” Osborne said.

At Trellis Farm & Garden, 2N492 Kirk Road, St. Charles, owner Tom Stopka said the special shopping day on Saturday not only gives a boost to small businesses but especially to those that are family owned for generations.

“I feel small businesses are very different from box stores. It’s a lot more personalized to the customer base and more personalized to the area,” Stopka said. “We stock a lot of products that are from St. Charles or from Geneva or Batavia. Our pumpkins came from Maple Park.”

In addition to garden plants, the store also sells pet food, wild bird seed, horse feed and chicken feed. Its grass seed is regionally specific to northern Illinois, Stopka said.

The store is getting ready for Christmas trees.

Vinyl & Vintage, 123 N. Main St., Elburn, marked five years in August said Carrie Auwaerter, who co-owns the store with her husband, Bob.

For her, Small Business Saturday reminds shoppers that these small stores are not corporate owned.

“We are a handful of small businesses in Elburn. We look out for each other and take care of each other,” Carrie Auwaerter said. “We have to pay attention to our customers and what they want.”

The retail shop has more than vinyl records, offering a bit of everything from salt and pepper shakers to ornaments, music boxes, vintage Christmas items and Marshal Field’s boxes, she said.

Barb Jeske, owner of Amazing Grace Antiques, 401 N. Main St., Elburn, said when a customer comes to a small business, he or she is getting a personal touch and a warm welcome – whether it’s Small Business Saturday or just a regular Thursday.

The antique store is in a historic 1895 house and customers can go into all 15 rooms, she said.

“All small businesses need to be supported in that there’s not a large profit margin,” Jeske said. “It’s the whole personal touch.”

When she goes to a store that offers self checkout, she makes a point to go to a cashier instead.

“People need to interact with each other and look each other in the eye and wish each other a good day and be recognized,” Jeske said.

Sugar Grove Ace Hardware and Pet Supply, 160 E. Galena Blvd., uses the marketing and promotion from American Express for Small Business Saturday, owner Mark Driscoll said.

Small Business Saturday lets people know they can connect with family-owned businesses in their communities, he said.

“And all associates live in the community,” Driscoll said.

He also owns the pet supply business, which is in the same building, and offers everything from Purina to Acana and specialty dog foods.

“We also have pet accessories like collars, leashes, chains and a tremendous variety of pet treats and toys,” Driscoll said.

Megan Wilson, co-owner with Stacey Simons of Thrown Threads, 125 S. Batavia Ave., Batavia, said Small Business Saturday boosts their profile. The business has been open since 2021.

“It means quite a lot to us. We are a town primarily made up of small businesses,” Wilson said. “We find that we get quite a bit of support from our community during that time. And it’s a great opportunity for the community to shop local for their Christmas gifts.”

The Thrown Threads owners handmake all their products in ceramics and fiber art. The store also offers classes and workshops for pottery and fiber arts such as macrame and weaving and sells supplies.

At More Polish Pottery, 8S953 Jericho Road, Big Rock, owner Rebecca Gengler said Small Business Saturday is more than offering specials.

“It means reconnection with the people who have gotten us here,” Gengler said. “It’s a way for us to celebrate being a small business with our customers and sharing our promotions with them.”

Gengler’s husband was in the military stationed in Europe in the 1990s when they discovered Polish pottery.

“It’s all made in one city in Poland and dates back to the Middle Ages,” Gengler said. “We fell in love with it but we could not find this high quality bakeware, dinnerware, mugs, gifts ... in the U.S.”

The pottery is made in Boleslawiec – prounounced bole-es-SWA-vietz.

The city was named for Bolesław I The Brave, the first Polish king who died in 1025. His name is pronounced BOLE-es-waf.

“I’m not just selling products. I’m selling artists’ stories in Poland through their art,” Gengler said.

Mike Simon, owner of The Little Traveler, 404 S. Third St., Geneva, said the more publicity Small Business Saturday gets, the more customers become aware of it.

The Little Traveler sells a variety of items, including food, wine, decor, housewares, decorations, clothes and accessories.

“We like it because in the midst of all the holiday hubbub we’re surrounded with it’s the one day when the press focuses on the important role that small, locally-owned family businesses play in our communities,” Simon wrote in an email.