They say if you see the turkey crossing the road, you know Thanksgiving is right around the corner. So is Black Friday, when big box stores blot out the sun with big ads and ever-earlier door-busting promotions. Finally, your local small businesses get a shot at your holiday shopping dollars with Small Business Saturday, on November 25th.

Make a plan to come to Main Street Clarence in Saturday and help support our local small businesses. We have a fantastic day planned for you, starting with our #ShopSmall Rally at Goodrich Coffee & Tea (9450 Main Street) from 10-11am.

Rich from Goodrich will once again be handing out FREE coffee and other refreshments, and we’ll be doing a drawing (no purchase necessary, but you MUST be present to win) and one lucky shopper will win FREE GOODRICH COFFEE FOR THE REST OF 2017!

We’ll also be handing out some Small Business Saturday totes and other items to get your day started (while supplies last). Remember to hit the “selfie station” there too (more on that below).

Once you’ve powered up it’s time to hit the road. We’ve got great offers up and down the street from local merchants. When you #ShopSmall you’re a winner, but you and also be a winner of a great basket of prizes with our social media contest. Here’s how it works:
Merchants participating in our Social Media Saturday promotion each have a special offer just for you  Visit as many of these merchants as you can by 3pm on Saturday(there’s no purchase necessary, but we hope you’ll like what you see).

Each participating merchant will have a “selfie station” in a prominent location. We are asking people playing our Social Media Saturday game to qualify by using the hashtag #DiscoverMainStreet on selfies they post to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. No purchase is necessary.

We will be searching social media hashtag #DiscoverMainStreet (specifically Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) for the choose a winner from the people who visit the most locations (we will do a drawing in case of a tie). We’ve got a great prize too – gift certificates from our Main Street Merchants (hint: could make some nice holiday gifts)!
Best of all, simply by playing our game you will be helping these small businesses get the exposure they need. After all, a strong Main Street makes for a strong community.

Here’s a look at last year’s winner Kate Quesada and her day in pictures:

Here’s a first look at participating merchants. We’ll be updating this page all week with additional merchants and video shorts of their offers, so be sure and check back for the complete list (in alphabetical order; we’ll have a printed list ready for you Saturday at Goodrich Coffee too):

• Amish Villa (8570 Main Street) 
• Captain Bob’s Outdoors (10295 Main Street)
  
• Clarence Pet Grooming (10295 Main Street) 
• Elysium Day Spa (9515 Main Street) 
• Family Chocolate Shoppe (10295 Main Street) 
• Goodrich Coffee & Tea (9450 Main Street)
• Hyatt’s All Things Creative (8565 Main Street) 
• Louie’s Deli & Imports (8202 Main Street) 
• McDuffie’s Bakery (9920 Main Street)
  
• Paula’s Donuts (8560 Main Street) 
• Pet Wants WNY (10745 Main Street) 
• Salon in the Tower (10225 Main Street) 
• Satya Yoga (10255 Main Street) 
• Smoke Fire & Spice (10189 Main Street) 
• Steph + Elli (9500 Main Street)
• Sweet Charlotte’s (10255 Main Street) 

There are many national studies that show a larger portion of money spent at local and independent business stays in the community than when you shop at national retailers. On Main Street, quite often the person helping you is the owner or someone involved in the business. Talk to them and introduce yourself. You’ll be glad you did.