Smack in the middle of two of the biggest retail days of the year, local shops in Bayside celebrated Small Business Saturday.
The Bayside Village Business Improvement District [BID], consisting of over 200 businesses including shoe outfitters, flower shops and bookstores, celebrated its retail diversity on Saturday, November 24 with a block party and gift card raffles.
“If you need something, you can definitely find what you’re looking for on Bell Boulevard,” said Bayside BID executive director Lyle Sclair. “[Small Business Saturday] raises awareness about shopping locally.” Assisted by American Express and the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), the Bayside BID opened up local stores to garner support from the community and inform residents about all the incredible shops right in their backyard.
“It’s important, especially in a place like Bayside where you have a variety of providers but all different kinds of products; it puts them all in one place,” said Sclair.
Karen Serin, owner of Top Drawer on Bell Boulevard, said she was happy to be included in the event. “It was very beneficial,” said Serin, who has been in business for 33 years. “It increased traffic and gave us exposure and a lot of our customers came in and told us they were glad the event was going on.”
