Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

Main Streets around New Hampshire Gearing Up for Small Business Saturday

Todd Bookman/NHPR

To compete with the Walmarts of this world, small businesses have to offer something the retail giants can't. For Joe Galvin, that’s an impressive collection of well-used vintage vinyl.

“We sell the old scratched up stuff...has some flavor to it,” he says with a laugh.

Galvin runs the Krypton Pop Culture Emporium in downtown Exeter. Along with records, he’s got comic books, GI Joe toys from the 1960s, and all manner of pop memorabilia.

He’s also got a sign on the door advertising Small Business Saturday, a promotion he says has helped boost sales since it launched nationally in 2010.

“People will bring it up. They’ll say, ‘Yeah, I’m here for Small Business Saturday, I like to support small businesses’ and things like that, so yeah, I think it is definitely working.”

Shops from Berlin to Keene to Portsmouth are participating in the initiative, with many offering promotions. Cities are getting involved, too, including in Manchester, where shoppers will find free parking on Elm Street throughout the day.

At the Honey Hole in Exeter, where you can pick up local art and swanky salvage, owner Heather Dubina says Small Business Saturday has become her busiest day of the year.

“You can definitely feel it, because the store will be packed,” she says.

Todd started as a news correspondent with NHPR in 2009. He spent nearly a decade in the non-profit world, working with international development agencies and anti-poverty groups. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.