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Shop owner 'happy everyone's shopping local' on Small Business Saturday

Coleman: 'We had people waiting in the door when we came in this morning'
Tinkers and Company
Posted at 7:15 PM, Nov 28, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-28 19:15:09-05

RICHMOND, Va. -- Thousands of Richmonders flocked to local stores this weekend for Small Business Saturday.

About 42 percent of consumers planned to shop at small businesses on Saturday, with 80 percent saying they plan to shop small this holiday season, according to American Express.

Tinkers and Company
Tinkers and Company

“We had people waiting at the door when we came in this morning," Sharon Coleman, co-owner of Tinkers and Company, said. “People are excited. It’s a pretty day. It’s not really super cold out there. Everybody’s ready to decorate and start getting festive and start getting holly jolly.”

Coleman has operatedTinkers and Companyfor over three decades and says Small Business Saturday is one of their best days of the year.

“It’s a winter wonderland. People often look up and go, 'Oh my goodness, I've never seen anything like this before,'" manager Sue Sanders said.

Sue Saunders and Sharon Coleman
Sue Saunders and Sharon Coleman

One of the shop's longtime customers is also named Sharon Coleman.

“Oh, I have to come to Tinkers every year for my Christmas presents,"Coleman said. "My son loves the Golden Girls and I just brought Betty White ornament. And where else can you find a Betty White ornament?”

Eugene Henry at Plan 9 Records
Eugene Henry at Plan 9 Records

In Carytown, Plan 9 Records also saw high customer turnout.

"Especially because it’s not that many of us working in the store, so it means a whole lot for us," Eugene Henry said.

While customer turnout climbs, international supply chain issues have caused products to be delayed, many of which are still coming in.

“We’re still getting boxes in, we got six boxes in a couple days of ago," Coleman said.

"A lot of the things that we would normally have, we just haven’t been able to get right now," Henry added. "As well as equipment like our turn tables. But we’ve been making do."

Overall, these businesses are just happy folks are shopping local.

“We’re just happy everyone's shopping local and giving us a lot of support this year," Coleman said.

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