Coral Gables’ local shops hope for prosperous day on Small Business Saturday

Rebecca San Juan
·2 min read

Coral Gables’ small merchants expect a strong turnout of local holiday shoppers to support them on Small Business Saturday.

They want to keep the momentum going after a busy Black Friday, when they welcomed an increase in customers in their independent stores. Despite lingering inflation, many people are in a buying mood, the local shopkeepers say.

“That’s how we pay the rent,” said Erica des Roches, owner of Veranda Plants and Gifts at 224 Miracle Mile. Days like Small Business Saturday, she said, “are so important, especially for small businesses. It can make or break you as a small business.”

The day kicked off at 10 a.m. with free coffee for business owners and shoppers at the men’s clothing store My Grooms Room on Miracle Mile. Several shops organized discounts and deals throughout Coral Gables to draw shoppers, including the women’s clothing and accessory store Stem on Giralda Plaza, the 23-year-old new age shop The Golden Triangle on Galiano Street and Veranda Plants and Gifts.

Annual Small Business Saturday takes place the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. Credit card giant American Express launched the national event in 2010 to sustain independent retailers during the economic fallout of the Great Recession. Business owners nationwide have drawn $163 billion since the tradition started, according to American Express.

Small retailers like The Golden Triangle in the Gables prepared for a busy day, anticipating support from area residents who understand buying local helps sustain the community.

“Locals are your neighbors and you want to support what businesses they own and you want to put that money back into your neighborhood,” said Valentina Benoit, a Golden Triangle sales associate.

Benoit’s instinct might be right. Bankrate, the online financial information provider, predicted that 59% of holiday shoppers nationwide would participate in Small Business Saturday, a greater percentage than the anticipated 56% of consumers expected to have shopped on Black Friday.

Days like Small Business Saturday, Erica des Roches said, “are so important, especially for small businesses. It can make or break you as a small business.” The owner of Veranda Plants & Gifts, pictured above in her store in December 2021, rents a shop tucked away in a breezeway on Miracle Mile.
Days like Small Business Saturday, Erica des Roches said, “are so important, especially for small businesses. It can make or break you as a small business.” The owner of Veranda Plants & Gifts, pictured above in her store in December 2021, rents a shop tucked away in a breezeway on Miracle Mile.

On a typical day, Veranda Plants’ des Roches said she’ll get eight customers. On Friday, she sat in a navy blue and bamboo framed director’s chair looking at the many potted plants and hanging baskets dangling from the ceiling along with Christmas ornaments. Jazz and holiday tunes played in the background. That day des Roches and her Bichon Poodle Frankie — he barks and follows his owner to greet new customers — received 15 visitors.

On Small Business Saturday, when the store has plenty of deals, des Roches said she expected at least 30 people, the same number as last year.

“People are ready for the holidays. We just want to get out. With everything going on, all of the negative news that we see on television,” des Roches said. “We just want to go out, shop and have a good time.”