The Downtown Bangor Partnership’s annual Plaid Friday is an effort to draw holiday shoppers with incentives to shop small and shop local.
BANGOR, Maine — While many shoppers were making their way to big-box stores for Black Friday deals popular with major retailers, Bianca Roberts and others in Bangor chose to shop local as part of the community’s annual Plaid Friday.
“I first saw this little stuffed lobster, and then I also got this little crab I haven’t seen anywhere else,” Roberts said.
Her cousin, Hailey Roberts, agreed.
“They have stuff that the big-box stores don’t have, and they have things made in the town or in Maine, which is cool,” she added
Christy Bruton with Out on a Whimsey Toys said events like this make it easy to connect with Roberts and other new customers while also promoting business through shopping incentives, such as discounts and gift raffles.
“It’s really exciting to see people come in and choose something that’s local and specialty,” Bruton said. “Especially when they come in with kids and look at stuff and really figure out what’s best for them.”
Event organizer and Downtown Bangor Partnership Director Betsy Lundy said more than 10 local businesses were participating this year, each offering a variety of different promotions.
“[It’s a way of] working collaboratively together to build overarching events that pull in a lot of different members of the community,” she said.
Lundy explained that with each dollar spent, shoppers aren’t only supporting business owners but the city as a whole.
“The impact is far-reaching because that retailer is using a local accountant, a local law firm, their children are taking dance lessons at the local studio,” she shared.
Nick Iammatteo, co-owner of Bangor’s newest store The Emporium Spooky Goods and More, said events like this help build relationships with other downtown businesses while introducing customers to what his shop offers.
“Downtown Bangor feels like a neighborhood unto itself,” he said. “All the shops here—everybody kind of knows everybody.”
He shared that the community support has made the hard work of running a new business worthwhile.
“We’ve just gotten so much positive feedback,” Iammatteo said. “It just makes all the hard work totally worth it.”
Officials with the Downtown Bangor Partnership said they would also be hosting a Small Business Saturday celebration, where many of the local businesses will continue running discounts and promotions.
