Many New Yorkers are taking advantage of Small Business Saturday — a follow-up to Black Friday started by American Express encouraging shoppers to go local.
The Honey House at Astor Apiaries — the city’s first honey shop — is part of the Shop Small Astoria crawl.
The event promoting small businesses lasts until Sunday, Dec. 7. Shoppers can get a Shop Small Astoria Crawl passport stickered as they make purchases at different businesses. If you fill in eight or more squares and turn your passport in to the Brass Owl by Dec. 10, you can choose a prize: a hat or tote bag.
The Honey House has been part of the Shop Small Astoria crawl for three years now.
“It’s so important for people to patronize small businesses because your dollar goes so much further than it does at the big box store, that’s the main thing. The other thing about this crawl is it gets people out of their habits and routines and moving them to maybe walk down a block they haven’t gone down before and then you’re not only seeing my shop but all the shops on my block. So this has an effect not just on my business but all the businesses around me.” Honey House owner Nick Hefley said.
The city’s Small Business Services is launching a revamped “Shop Your City” website this year, featuring a map of local small businesses sortable by business type and ownership, like Black and women-owned businesses.