JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
Marcy Nessel, owner of Fischer Galleries in Fondren, is proudly displaying a new exhibit with art by a husband and wife team.
"The whole concept is to show devotional or religious inspired work, but with a very easy take on it," she says.
Nessel sells the art too. She says much of her business comes from out-of-towners or city dwellers. She hopes retail events like Small Business Saturday on November 24 will pull in more suburban families to see what Fondren has to offer.
"We are looking forward to a lot of people coming in, visiting the gallery who have maybe never been here before, or just promoting our local small business establishments," Nessel tells us.
Small Business Saturday is promoted by the National Federation of Independent Retailers, who say shoppers tend to flock to big-box retailers on Black Friday, and small businesses are forgotten.
Restaurants can also benefit from a good turnout on Small Business Saturday. Walker's Drive In has been a fixture in Fondren since 1848. The food is good, and the lunch and dinner crowd is too. But support around the holidays is always welcome at Walkers, which is miles away from the Black Friday hot spots in Ridgeland and Flowood.
"National chains obviously have the support of national advertising. We do some advertising but that can be costly, so it's a lot of word of mouth," says General Manager Effie Hubanks. "You need people coming in all the time."
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