Small Business Saturday: Shopping season is off with a bang in QC

Saturday was a day of shopping joy and chaos for DeAnna Freeman-Foster, an owner of a men’s clothing store in downtown Rock Island. It was a busier-than-normal business day as dozens of customers crowded into her small storefront, looking for that perfect clothing gift for the men in their lives. “I was telling myself ‘Don’t […]

Saturday was a day of shopping joy and chaos for DeAnna Freeman-Foster, an owner of a men’s clothing store in downtown Rock Island. It was a busier-than-normal business day as dozens of customers crowded into her small storefront, looking for that perfect clothing gift for the men in their lives.

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“I was telling myself ‘Don’t panic. There’s a lot of people in here.’ We had as many as 10 people in here at once,” said Ms. Freeman-Foster, an owner of Big T Wear Big & Tall Clothing at 1700 2nd Ave. She said some of the store’s top sellers included big shirts for big guys. She held up one of the best sellers – a black T-shirt with the saying “Warning! Big Boys Are Highly Addictive!” Ms. Freeman-Foster was one of many small business owners in the Quad Cities region who just experienced one of their most important days of the year – Small Business Saturday, which was held on Nov. 25 right after Black Friday. Small Business Saturday is a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for  communities. “This year, we know that small businesses need our support now more than ever as they navigate, retool and pivot from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” according to information from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The special shopping day was founded by American Express in 2010 and officially co-sponsored by SBA in 2011. American Express has estimated that Small Business Saturday brought in nearly $18 billion in consumer spending last year. On the local front, the QCBJ visited several small businesses in the Iowa and Illinois Quad Cities to check out how the holiday shopping season was going on the special business day that shines a spotlight on locally-owned businesses. All reported fairly good to brisk business with shoppers looking for shirts, artwork, interior decorating services, jewelry and even a good meal. “People are out doing a lot of Christmas shopping today,” said Mary O’Connell, owner of Mary’s Diamonds and Jewelry, located in the Village of East Davenport at 2115 E. 12th St. “We’ve been selling necklaces, lots of necklaces.” She added that in addition to Christmas gifts, customers were coming into her store to get ready for another special event – weddings. Small Business Saturday was a time when Mary’s was doing good business selling jewelry to brides for that special day. Many people also were out shopping for home makeovers on Saturday. Dianna Donahue, an interior decorator and owner of Fleur Decor Interiors at 1018 ½ Mound St., Davenport, emailed out messages to her customers to encourage them to visit Fleur Decor on Small Business Saturday. The messages were received and customers came out in force on that day. Some were looking for the perfect colors to put on their walls; others wanted a complete kitchen makeover, Ms. Donohue said. “We’re about anything to make your home beautiful; to make your home a haven,” she added. In addition to new kitchens and colors on the wall, people were also out looking to put art on those walls. Many of them stopped by to look at The ARTery at 3913 14th Ave., Rock Island. That business, now located in the former Bike N’ Hike store, features artwork by 20 artists in the region. Artwork sells from $3 all the way up to  big paintings for $2,000. “We want to make sure we have art for every price range,” said Tara Malnar, an artist and one of the owners of The ARTery. On Saturday, art lovers were in the store buying cards, pottery, handmade clothing, jewelry and many other items. “Today, wine glasses have also been selling. … But it’s really a little bit of everything,” added Jenna Isbell, an artist and another co-owner of the business. But the day wasn’t all about buying new art, clothing or getting a kitchen makeover. After all the shopping – and getting tired of eating leftover turkey sandwiches – people were in the mood for pizza and burgers. That’s where Doug Westerfield, owner of Terrific Pizza at 1627 Washington St., Davenport, came in and found a good business day on Saturday. His pizza and sandwich business in west Davenport was keeping busy making BBQ pizzas and serving up his signature Terrific Burgers for people taking a break from Christmas shopping. “We did a good lunch business today, but we usually do our big business at night,” said Mr. Westerfield, who pointed out that Saturday also was a big day for college football, which also helped drive sales for Terrific Pizza over the weekend. After a pizza and burger break, many customers continued their shopping spree in the Quad Cities on Saturday. Many of them were also in the mood to go retro during the day and buy items that were popular during Christmas seasons long ago. One of those retro shopping spots was Rocket Resale of 1019 Mound St., Davenport. The business, with the slogan “Where Shopping is a Blast,” offers just about everything retro. It has old coins, furniture, signs, toys, bottles, matchboxes and much more. And many customers were in the retro spending mood on Saturday. “People today are definitely looking for Christmas gifts. I’ve sold some toys and signage,” said Kaleb Stebens, Rocket Resale’s owner. Not too far from the resale shop, Darien Collins, owner of Envied Vintage Clothing, Etc. at 800 Isabel Bloom Eay, Suite 3, Davenport, also was in the Christmas spirit. He reported a brisk business day on Small Business Saturday. Some of the top-selling items were any clothing associated with the University of Iowa and its football team. Those sales were helped with Iowa’s win over Nebraska on Friday, he said. Other items people were buying included coats, jackets and sweatshirts. “People are really gearing up for the cold weather right now,” added Mr. Collins.