Niagara Reporter
Carmine’s Restaurant pulled out all the stops for Small Business Saturday here in Niagara Falls.
“Small Business Saturday” is a quaint new phenomenon that’s been gaining popularity the past few years, not just locally, but in many communities across the country. It’s to encourage patronage of small, local businesses, the true lifeblood of everyday Main Street, USA in terms of employment and economic activity, as opposed to large corporations like Walmart and Best Buy or online behemoth Amazon, which have wreaked havoc on traditional, locally-owned and operated retail shops and stores.
The upside of convenience, selection and low prices, made possible by economies of scale and exploitation of cheap overseas labor and enabled by mindless consumers habitually roaming the aisles is, in the opinion of many economists, counterbalanced by the loss of jobs, burgeoning trade deficit, suburban sprawl and the general materialistic, soul-killing experience of being pushed into buying more and more stuff to fill the gaping spiritual hole that the average American harbors inside.
It seems that Small Business Saturday has special meaning here in the city of Niagara Falls, partly because New York State and by extension, Niagara Falls, are perennially rated as being the most business-hostile places in the country, but also because it’s the only day of the year when the collective local business community stands up for itself and proclaims, “Hey, look at us, not the big guys who run this place the other 364 days of the year… We’re your family, friends and neighbors.”
Indeed, with eight million tourists parking, sightseeing, eating and purchasing gifts and souvenirs in Niagara Falls State Park and then leaving town on the Robert Moses Parkway, all the money is spent in the park. There isn’t much left for local merchants. Delaware North, Maid of the Mist and Albany get it all. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) ships the electricity elsewhere, leading to some of the highest electric rates for small business in the entire nation. In addition, both Old Falls Street USA and the Niagara Falls Conference and Event Center are contracted out to a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Fortune 50 conglomerate Comcast, because after all, local small business is far too Mickey Mouse to be running those operations.
Besides, Delaware North, Maid and Comcast give more money to the politicians than local small businesses do.
Over forty Niagara Falls businesses participated in this year’s Small Business Saturday, including Carmine’s Restaurant, Community Medical Pharmacy, Donatello’s Pizzeria, Mountain Oak Vapors, Piccirillo Florist, 24 Below Gallery and Cafe, Michael’s Restaurant, Nashville North and Niagara Honeymoon Sweets, NiagaraHub and Wine on Third, just to name some.
Attractive gifts can be found at the enticing Niagara’s Honeymoon Sweets Gourmet Chocolate shop, a locally-owned and operated shoppe that participated in this year’s Small Business Saturday.
Pick up lunch and a copy of the Reporter at Donatello’s, another proud participant of Small Business Saturday.
Even the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation (NTCC), the quasi-public tourism promotion agency that feeds off local hotel bed taxes and whose stated mission is “to expand the economic prosperity of the Niagara USA communities by generating individual and group visitation” got into the act.
“Complete all of your holiday shopping in one trip, and still have time see Niagara Falls!” coaxed the NTCC on its “Explore Niagara Falls USA” Facebook page on Thursday and Friday before Small Business Saturday. “One roof. Over 200 shops. Gifts are easy to find at the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls USA.”
In this photo that ran with the NTCC’s Facebook ad for Fashion Outlet Mall, it appears that Burberry and Coach are two examples of what the NTCC considers “small businesses”.
Sure enough, if you clicked on the associated link on Facebook, you were conveyed to a page on the NTCC website headlined “NIAGARA SHOPPING”, which heralds “One of the top ten rated outlet malls in the country, the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls USA features over 200 designer stores to suit everyone’s shopping needs and is situated only 10 minutes away from one of the world’s natural wonders, Niagara Falls State Park and the Canadian border.”
To summarize, in the run-up to Small Business Saturday here in Niagara Falls, the NTCC sponsored (paid an extra Facebook fee for wider promotion) an online ad promoting the Fashion Outlet Mall, where small mom and pop outfits such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Banana Republic, Coach, Disney, Kate Spade, Forever 21, Michael Kors, Saks Fifth Avenue, Levi’s Outlet, Nike Factory Store, Reebok, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Cole Haan, Perry Ellis, DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger struggle to feed their families. Families of shareholders, that is.
For two days preceding Niagara Falls’ Small Business Saturday, the NTCC ran ads promoting the Fashion Outlet Mall, located in the town of Niagara.
What an incredible slap in the face by the NTCC to the 40+ small local businesses that teamed up to celebrate Small Business Saturday in Niagara Falls this past weekend.
Why do we put up with this?
