EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Cliff Deflyer, co-owner of Vidler's 5 & 10 in East Aurora, said small independent stores in Western New York were counting on last weekend.
“Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and no Bills game Sunday till late," said Deflyer, should have been recipe for success.
But then the lake effect snow rolled in, burying the Southtowns and the Southern Tier...along with plans for Small Business Saturday. It's tough to get that business back, with so many online options available to customers.
I also spoke with two small business owners in the Village of Hamburg who said the storm forced them to come up with new plans.
“Myself and the other businesses in the village had planned a lot for Small Business Saturday, different specials and different deals," said John McNeil, owner of Game On Hamburg, a sports memorabilia shop.
Heather Jackson, owner of Merit Badge Books, was hoping that her new shop would get some buzz this Small Business Saturday.
“Saturday when we woke up and we looked out the window, we knew that all the snow might keep people from getting out and about," she said.
She was grateful for the few hardy Southtowners who made it out to her store after the village holiday parade Saturday morning.
Jackson and McNeil said the village is planning some kind of re-do of Small Business Saturday this coming weekend.
“The retail businesses, a lot of restaurants here in Hamburg are hoping to push their Small Business Saturday deals and events to this coming weekend," Jackson said.
“Myself and the other businesses in the area all plan on doing our specials that we had going this weekend, we're going to do them again next weekend," McNeil said.
“We still got three weeks till Christmas," Deflyer said. "So, come on out, there's something here for everybody."
