Downtown Albany Scavenger Hunt highlights Small Business Saturday
The Downtown Albany Business Improvement District (BID) will host a Scavenger Hunt on Small Business Saturday, November 30, starting at 12:30 PM and running until all prizes have been found. The event encourages people to walk the streets and discover the many locally-owned restaurants, retail, and retail-related businesses within the District. Sponsored by B. Lodge & Company, participants will be on the hunt for over 20 gift certificates, totaling more than $300 in value, to retailers and restaurants hidden in Downtown businesses. Additionally, those in Downtown on November 30 are encouraged to use #shopsmall518 in their social posts to be entered to win a Downtown prize pack valued at over $200.
More than 60 independently-owned businesses in downtown Albany will be open on Small Business Saturday, offering the opportunity for consumers to shop, dine, and be entertained on the 10th annual Shop Small holiday. An initiative started by American Express, people are encouraged to support locally-owned businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving as they complete their holiday gift buying.
“Communities win when people spend small, and as Albany’s fastest-growing neighborhood we are thrilled to be home to nearly 100 locally-owned businesses, offering residents the ability to be within steps of world-class dining, retail, and entertainment,” says Georgette Steffens, executive director of the Downtown Albany BID. “Those who live and work in our District regularly take advantage of this benefit, with national initiatives like Small Business Saturday serving to attract people from the larger area to experience the incredible amenities found here. This effort supports local owners and their local employees while also growing further retail and residential development in our District.”
In 2018, over 100 million consumers nationwide shopped small on Small Business Saturday, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, spending a combined $17.8 billion at independent neighborhood retailers and restaurants. With 67 cents from each dollar spent at an independently-owned business staying local, those who shop small in Downtown are actively boosting the local economy, whether they are dining, being entertained, or shopping at one of the many retailers within the District, including Albany’s oldest department store, B. Lodge & Company.
“There is nothing small about small businesses, and there is nothing small about the impact customers make when shopping at them,” says Mark Yonally, president of B. Lodge & Company. “There is incredible value in the relationships you build with customers – and vice versa – when they step inside your business, and Small Business Saturday is a great reminder that shopping local means you are finding the perfect gift while enhancing your neighborhood in a substantial way.”
Information on all Downtown businesses open on Small Business Saturday, including an interactive map, can be found at downtownalbany.org/SBS2019.
