BUTTE – Butte may have lost some large retail stores, but there are plenty of smaller stores in town to spend your money locally this holiday season.
“We’re hoping that people will look local first before they head out of town or before they look online at home,” said George Everett of Mainstreet Uptown Butte.
City leaders are pushing the advantages of shopping at Butte’s many little boutiques and mom-and-pop shops.
“So shopping local really has that customer service that people don’t get when they shop online or the big retailers,” said Ashlee Vingom of Wein’s Men’s Store.
Some believe it is more convenient to shop in Butte.
Pam Neeley of Neeley Designs said, “If there’s a place to park, I’m shopping there.”
“There’s nice parking Uptown, there’s nice parking all around Butte. Why would you go to a larger city where you have to go around the parking lot five times,” she said.
Small business owners are hoping local shoppers will support them because they rely on strong sales to get through the holidays.
“Being a small business, you support the community by donating to different adventures and benefits, so it’s nice for them to come back and shop in our stores,” said Krystal Carlson of Butte Stuff.
And while Butte has lost some major retailers, there has been an increase in small businesses opening in Uptown, Butte, and economic leaders hope this will make up some of that retail void.
“We’re seeing kind of some sort of after-effect of Herberger’s closing, people are starting to open up other shops. It’s not huge, but it’s pretty encouraging,” Everett said.
On Black Friday, a couple from Missoula spent the morning shopping in Butte’s small businesses.
“I mean, even when we shop in Missoula, I try to stay at the local markets. Just keep the money circulating in the community and that’s very important, especially for rural towns in Montana,” said Stephen Maciag.
Butte will also be participating in the national Small Business Saturday event this Saturday that will include many sales at small businesses in Butte, as well as prizes for shoppers.
