MAINE, USA — In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, Mainers wasted no time switching their attention from Thanksgiving feasts to holiday shopping.
While many people head to big retailers or malls to take advantage of Black Friday deals, Maine business leaders are encouraging people to shop at locally owned stores.
"[Shops] kind of need that bump, that push here at the end of the year to help them weather the cold winter months of January and February and make it through until the tourism season," Downtown Bangor's Executive Director Betsy Lundy said.
The Queen City recently began a new holiday shopping tradition. Lundy said local store owners had the idea to rival Black Friday prices with their own "Plaid Friday" promotion. Some stores mark down merchandise on everything in stock, or offer extra discounts to people wearing plaid clothing.
Lundy said the "Plaid Friday" idea is a great way to encourage folks to shop downtown and build momentum into Small Business Saturday.
"When you choose to shop local, your money just stays in the community and circulates around rather than getting filtered out to some other location," she added.
Local Color, which has locations in Kennebunkport and Portland, was busy Friday morning as Mainers looked to cross a couple of items off their shopping list.
The owner of the business is an artist and designer and you can find her work on nearly everything inside the store.
Cynthia Rhea is the general manager of the Portland location and said this weekend is "crucial" for the business. Like many shops in the city's Old Port, Local Color benefits from tourist foot traffic in the summer and early fall. But the holiday rush is key in helping local businesses get through the slow time of year.
"It’s energizing, we love our customers, we love them year-round, especially this time of year," Rhea added. "We love to have fun in the store and we try to make the environment like a party."
The store opened in Portland during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Rhea said other businesses in the area have been very welcoming and are always around to support whenever needed.
Old Port Wine & Cigar Merchants is right next door and owner Jacques Devillier echoed that statement, saying shop owners look out for each other.
"This is a big family here, we have the greatest collection of shops," he added.
Despite being one month away from Christmas, Devillier said he's already helping Mainers find the right type of wine for holiday dinners and parties.
"The holiday season is great in Portland, we need a little snow to get people in the mood, but it’s Christmas!" he added.