BRISTOL – Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Reps. James R. Langevin, D-R.I., and David N. Cicilline, D-R.I., joined a walking tour of downtown Bristol recently to show support for shopping at small businesses during the holiday season.
Organizing and participating in the tour were representatives of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the East Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Bristol Merchants Association.
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The group visited several small businesses. It began with a news conference at the Judge Roy Bean Saloon, owned by Zachary Rivers, who helped fund the saloon with an SBA-backed loan. Other stops were Harbor Bath & Body, Empire Coffee & Tea, New Leaf Hair Studio, Paper Packaging & Panache, Gorman’s Clocks, Caron’s Jewelers, and Bristol House of Pizza.
Mark S. Hayward, the SBA’s Rhode Island district director, said 98.9 percent of Rhode Island businesses are small, which are categorized as having fewer than 500 employees.
“That is approximately 100,000 small businesses that employ [more than] 50 percent of Rhode Island’s workforce,” Hayward said. “These businesses employ our friends, family and neighbors, and by shopping small, you are showing your support for them and your community.”
The event was part of the recent Small Business Saturday, intended to highlight brick-and-mortar small businesses, which compete amid the growing presence of so-called “big-box” stores and online sales by larger retailers. As the event enters its eighth year, both awareness and impact have grown, with 90 percent of consumers agreeing that the day has a positive impact on their community, organizers said.
“Small Business Saturday has become a great tradition for shops and stores to work together and remind customers about the benefits of shopping locally,” Reed said.
“There are small but meaningful ways for all of us to support small businesses and Rhode Island’s economy during the holidays,” Whitehouse said.
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com.
