BELLINGHAM, Wash. — This weekend marks another year of the Small Business Saturday, encouraging shoppers to keep it local.
Started by American Express 10 years ago, the event was meant to help main street businesses out of the Great Recession at that time.
This year, the National Federation of Independent business says 60% of pandemic-related small business closures have become permanent making the effort more important than ever.
NFIB says last year, Small Business Saturday eclipsed Black Friday and Cyber Monday in sales.
Some Bellingham businesses taking part this year include Boundary Bay, Chuckanut, Twin Sisters, and Aslan breweries; Coconut Kenny’s, Woods Coffee; and many other local restaurants; Youngstocks Nursery, Fanatik Bike Co; and Chocolate Necessities.
A map of participating businesses is available online.