Marquette County small business celebrates shopping local

MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. (WLUC) - Marquette County shoppers visited local stores on Saturday for Small Business Saturday. In Marquette, Bromley’s Books Owner Chelsea Bromley says the national initiative gets people to explore stores in the neighborhood.

“Just get to experience the community that you helped shape,” Bromley said. “So, when you support local, you’re not just buying from a small business, you are literally supporting your friends and neighbors and making your community really vibrant.”

The indie bookstore offered wrapped mystery books with purchases of $50 or more to celebrate. Bromley says being a small business helps create special relationships with the community, one book at a time.

“And you can really build on that relationship over time, and so, it is more about the community than buying a book online, which is a little more impersonal,” Bromley said. “We really get to know you and get to know your friends and family and pick out something special.”

Meanwhile, Negaunee’s Campfire Coffee celebrated by highlighting other small businesses. The shop invited three craft vendors to put on a pop-up holiday market. Campfire Coffee Owner Allison Carpenter says it’s a day for businesses to support each other.

“We’re all, you know, trying to do the same thing,” Carpenter said. “We’re trying to survive, and being a small business is a lot of work. So, any chance that I can support another small business, I’m always game.”

Carpenter also says the coffee shop works hard to roast its own coffee, and she wants to share that effort with the community.

“Small businesses need all the exposure they can get, and a lot of times people don’t know what other places have to offer right in their backyard, so we just try to get the word out,” Carpenter said.

She says Saturday was a chance to encourage people to walk through the door.