SYLVANIA, Ohio — Black Friday shopping looked different this year for small businesses in town because of the pandemic.
Store owners said they still had a good number of customers despite the circumstances.
Jen Linehan, owner of Beautiful Blooms by Jen said in-person shopping is really important to them this holiday season.
"Shopping local really is the way to go this holiday season to stay safe," Linehan said.
Although there were no long lines or crowds for Black Friday in downtown Sylvania, that doesn't mean local shops were empty.
"Today we were actually busier than we usually are because people are usually going to the big box stores. But, they're coming here and staying in town, so that's good for us," Chandler Cafe owner, Gail Stansley said.
Of all the years people to go out for holiday shopping, small business owners said this year should be the one with an emphasis on buying local. Many said they're still trying to recover after taking a hit from the statewide closures imposed early on in the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Keeping all our money here, in town; that's real important to all of us and we're super thankful for all our customers," Stansley said.
In a year that's been anything but normal, local business owners said they hope their community can come together to keep the city's downtown thriving.
"We're just trying to promote 'shop small, stay local,'" Stansley said.
"This last quarter is so important. So many of us were closed for so many months earlier in the year and just really helping us finish things off strong would be really helpful," Linehan said.
Many of the shops in downtown Sylvania have extended their hours to help the community shop local during the holiday season.
Some shoppers described the day as "enjoyable," a word that normally wouldn't be used to characterize Black Friday.
Shoppers in downtown Sylvania said they are focusing on buying more things from small, local businesses to help the community this year.
"Small businesses are really struggling because people are staying inside more and probably ordering online. So it's really important to shop local and support and that's what we're trying to do," local shopper, Kimberly Rae said.
"There's a great selection of businesses down here in Sylvania," shopper, Eric Fankhauser said.
A number of Black Friday shoppers said they felt safe while shopping in the city's smaller, locally-owned shops, and some even preferred it compared to years past as crowd sizes were much smaller.
"Many people are staying six feet apart and have masks on, like in the stores, barely any people go in. They keep it social distanced. Only a couple of people can go in," teenage shoppers, Kylie, Harper and Ethney said.
"I actually like it better. We've just stuck with downtown Sylvania; that's the only place we've been today. It's a lot less stressful. Less people, less stress," shoppers, Julie and Tony Ostrowski said.