JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — As Black Friday quickly approaches, small businesses want to remind you to shop local.
Mahoney’s Outfitters, a family-owned business in Johnson City, has seen the effects of price increases and has tried its best not to let it interfere too much with its in-store prices.
Owner, Dan Mahoney, says more money spent locally goes directly to benefit the community.
“We’re seeing a lot more people out. We want more people to shop local because local pays the taxes. They’re the ones that pays for the police and the fire and the schools and everything else. And the internet, sorry to say, doesn’t pay much for the taxes,” said Mahoney.
Owner of Owlsnest Downtown, Jessica Moore, says you can find better deals shopping at consignment stores.
“A lot of our items are like new, and I promise you if it’s a sweater, they’re probably not going to care if there’s a tag hanging from it, or if it’s a toy for a child they usually don’t care if it comes in a box,” said Moore.
Owlsnest Downtown opened in 2010 when American Express started their Small Business Saturday initiative, and Moore said they’ve seen exponential growth from it.
“We’ve seen exponential growth in small business Saturday and it’s still, to this day, our number one day of the year, more than Black Friday.”
