This weekend, the Business Council of Greater Montgomery hosted the second annual town-wide Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday was first observed in the United States on Nov. 27, 2010. The first event was created by American Express, in partnership with the non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Roslindale Village Main Street. Small Business Saturday is a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, in which customers tend to shop at big box retail and e-commerce stores. By contrast, Small Business Saturday encourages people to shop at local brick and mortar businesses.

Throughout the day, businesses marketed sales. City Winery Hudson Valley offered a 25 percent discount on their merchandise and retail wine. The business also featured special packs of three and four bottles of wine, specifically for holiday gifts. Astoria Hudson had a sale for 15 percent off every item in the store.

Java Blue Coffee & Market gave away $10 gift certificates to their first 10 customers on Saturday. Co-owner Christina Porcu noted that she saw an increase in sales due to the event.

“It was awesome. It went really, really, really well,” she said. “Great turnout from the community and it was just really fantastic.”

The business council did a passport program to encourage shoppers to enter as many stores as possible. After receiving enough signatures from business owners, customers could enter a raffle. The raffle baskets were loaded with gift certificates, a bottle of wine and locally-made products.

Three ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held on Small Business Saturday. A ceremony was held for La Pêche, a sugaring and skin care boutique which moved from 201 Ward Street to 13 Union Street in the Village of Montgomery. The business has been in the village for six years.

“I really wanted to be right here in the village,” owner Kate Bradatsch said regarding her reason for moving the store. “I live here in the village and I just love the energy, the other local businesses.”

Bradatsch added that business has increased as of late. People are flocking to her boutique after services were not allowed for so long.

Business hours can be found on the business’ website: https://www.vagaro.com/lapeche. They can be reached at 845-769-7358.

Like La Pêche, a ceremony was held for Jacklyn Rose Studios, who moved its business from 141 Ward Street to 105 Ward Street in the Village of Montgomery. The business offers dermalinfusion, infrared sauna, nail services and more.

“This was always my dream location and my dream business plan,” said owner Jacklyn Rose. “Where I was previously was much smaller, so this allowed me to expand.”

Rose noted that the business has been fully booked since she was allowed to reopen. They were previously closed from March to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The business spent that time renovating their new location on 105 Ward Street.

Business hours at Jacklyn Rose Studios are by appointment only. They can be reached at 845-820-8319.

A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for Resolve Physical Therapy, after several delays due to COVID-19. Earlier this year, John De Noyelles decided to open his own private practice in Montgomery in order to remain close to where he lives and his children attend school. The business is located at 1128 Route 17K Suite 3, in Montgomery. In addition, De Noyelles placed his practice in Montgomery because he saw a need for the hands on, personalized therapy he specializes in.

“There’s some things that I do that could fill a need and a gap here,” he said.
The business is open Monday through Friday and hours can be found on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/resolveny/. They can be contacted at 845-769-7777.

Overall, Business Council of Greater Montgomery Executive Director Randi Picarello was pleased with how Small Business Saturday went this year.

“I think it went as well as could be expected in this current climate,” she said. “The turnout was better than last year as far as the amount of completed raffle tickets we got back… I think it definitely introduced people to different stores they weren’t aware of and I definitely think it gave us awesome stuff to build on for next year.”