Crowds Come Out For Small Business Saturday

East Greenwich saw a boost in holiday sales after Thanksgiving, according to a few local retailers. Mild temperatures no doubt helped bring people to Main Street, in particular, but shoppers also seemed to respond to the strong ad campaign for Small Business Saturday.

"This week has been fantastic," said Dianne Muzalewski of the on Main Street. "The weather's been with us. I think that's the big thing."

Her store accepts American Express cards. On Saturday, customers could earn a $25 Amex coupon if they used their card at a participating small business. Muzalewski liked that.

"It was really kind of nice to see a big corporation step up to help the little person," she said.

EG resident Sharon Sutton said she was shopping downtown for two reasons: to stay local and enjoy the nice weather. "I think it's important," she said. She'd already bought items a and and was heading down to on Duke Street.

At , also on Main Street, several people were browsing Saturday afternoon. Assistant manager Jen Jakes said business had been good - not as good as she'd like, but good.

"Yesterday was a great day," she said. "Overall, things have been better ... better."

Up at the in the plaza, manager Patrick Barberet said they'd seen greater foot traffic than usual for the weekend after Thanksgiving.

"It's typically kind of a slower time for us," he said, after the crazy busy few days before Thanksgiving. But, this year, "it was a good weekend for us."

They had some specials on decanters and wine accessories, as well as their popular weekend wine tastings. Both, Barberet said, seemed to contribute to the increased customers.

"This has always been a crazy day for me," said Janice O’Connell, owner of Sprigs on Main Street. But, she said, "yesterday was better than last year."

She said she was grateful for all the shop-local publicity. "I think that we constantly do have to remind people to shop locally."

Main Street will be hosting four Strolls during the holidays - on every Thursday evening before Christmas, starting this Thursday, Dec. 1.