Shop Like it Matters: On Black-Owned Friday & Small Business Saturday, it Does!

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: NOVEMBER 26, 2022

BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Your neighborhood thrives when you support local, independent merchants. Well said, isn’t it? Yes? Then we’re compelled to tell you we lifted that opening sentence wholesale from the Village Alliance (Business Improvement District), as stated on their Small Business Saturday (SBS) landing page. Click here to see it and lean about area businesses offering SBS discounts and freebies.

It’s worth noting that while the Village, Flatiron/NoMad, Hudson Yards/Hell’s Kitchen, and the Meatpacking District all have BIDs that champion small businesses throughout the year, Chelsea cannot claim a BID of its own. That makes supporting this website’s namesake neighborhood on SBS a challenge—but it’s one we know you’re up to. It’s also one we’re at work on throughout the year (click here to visit our Support Small Businesses section).

And now, in a world already top heavy with hyperlinks, here’s a list of businesses featured in our “Support Small” section. Click on their names to be taken to their articles—which, in turn, will provide a link to their website.

Origin story: The Hummus & Pita Co.’s Chelsea location is the growing franchise’s first. | Photo by Scott Stiffler

Hummus & Pita Co.

The Makeup Show

Let’s Dress Up

Chelsea Table + Stage

Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea (Saturdays; season ends Dec. 17)

Kashmir 9

Chez Josephine

Tom Judson’s Trendy Tees

Tom’s Trendy Tees aim to please the hard-to-shop-for people on your gift-giving list. | Photo of Tom Judson by John Skalicky

Rozzo & Sons

Garber Hardware

Lasanga Chelsea

Pride of Chelsea: The Wine Cellar, during June 2019’s World Pide. | File photo by Kristen Ancillotti

Chelsea Wine Cellar

Le Zie

and three Seventh Ave. businesses worth supporting

And thanks, as always, to two of our longtime advertisers:

Chelsea Guitars

Protein Bakery

 

Ludacris’ catchy anthem for Black-Owned Friday is a new holiday classic. | Photo courtesy of Google

Black-Owned Friday: November 25, 2022

No matter how noble or nefarious the origins of Black Friday are (click here for the History Channel’s excellent exploration), the day after Thanksgiving has come to be generally accepted as the start of the holiday gift-giving season. Too bad it all-too-often plays out as an ugly expression of ruthless consumerism mixed with disregard for basic decency. Need proof? Check out Black Friday’s 24-hour news cycle for accounts of open-at-midnight stampedes and grown adult fisticuffs for the last one in stock of some gotta-have-it item.

From Brandon Blackwood, the Kendrink Trunk. | Photo courtesy of Google

Providing a much-needed course correction is Black-Owned Friday, a reimagining of Black Friday conceived by Google in partnership with U.S. Black Chambers Inc. This upcoming Friday, November 25 marks year number three for the observance, during which you can check off name after name on your holiday gift-giving list by searching, shopping, and supporting Black-owned businesses.

Prep for the day with a viewing of this shoppable, interactive music video. Created by Google and Grammy award-winning artist Ludacris, the track benefits from a guest appearance by Flo Milli and a deeply infectious hook, while the video lets viewers choose a variety of narrative paths that connect them with Black-owned businesses (70 of them, all told). Here in NYC, 15 such entrepreneurial efforts are being highlighted as part 2022’s Black-Owned Friday. Find them listed below, and click on the underlined names to visit them online.

54Kibo, owned by Nana Quagraine

Armando Cabral International, owned by Armando Cabral

Avec, owned by Dee Charlemagne

Harlem Candle Company lights the way toward a more enlightened way to observe Black Friday. | Photo courtesy of Google

BeEyeConic, owned by Ashlee Muhammad

BOGARD BY MIKE B., owned by Mike Bogard

Brandon Blackwood, owned by Brandon Blackwood

Celsious, owned by Corinna Williams

Char, owned by Tacharra Perry

Clean Design Home, owned by Robin Wilson

Effie’s Paper, owned by Kalyn Chandler

Flex-n-Fly, owned by Youmie Jean Francois

Harlem Candle Company, owned by Teri Johnson

Haute Richesse, owned by Tia Spry

My Little Magic Shop, owned by Shereen Campbell

Telfar, owned by Telfar Clemmons

 

Chelsea Community News is made possible with the help of our awesome advertisers, and the support of our readers. Please consider taking part in our GoFundMe campaign (click here). To make a direct donation, give feedback, send a Letter to the Editor, or contact our founder/editor, email scott@chelseacommunitynews.com.

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