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Shoppers take to Small Business
Saturday Take Two in Lincoln
[December 08, 2025]
As most folks know, Small
Business Saturday is a nationally observed shopping day that always
falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. It is a
day when holiday shoppers are encouraged to visit the small
businesses in their hometowns or other small downtown business
districts to show support for the local shop owners who work so hard
all year round to provide goods and services in their community.
For local retailers, Small Business Saturday can be a turning point
for their profit and loss statements, as they benefit from the
holiday spirit and the national promotion.
However, when extremely cold temperatures and a ton of snow swoops
in on a community, it can really put a damper on that sales
opportunity for retailers. That was the case this year, when the
snow started coming down in the night on Friday, and continued
throughout the day on Saturday, dumping several inches of white
stuff in the heart of the city.
So, the downtown merchants put their heads together and came up with
a new plan, a Small Business Saturday Take Two/Re-do. The idea was
first proposed by Ethan Hoinacki at Guest House Coffee and Pastries.
He sent out a group email to all the business owners in the heart of
the city asking if they would be interested in trying it all again.
Saturday, December 6th was already in the books as the Holiday
Retail Therapy event, so for most of the retailers it was just a
matter of combining the two to make for a bigger and better one.
The downtown merchants jumped on the band wagon and word went out
throughout the community that Lincoln would do the Take Two/Re-do.
On Saturday morning, walking from store to store, business owners
all seemed to agree that it was a good plan, and they were happy
Hoinacki suggested it.
The new business owner at Abe’s
Carmel Corn Shoppe said that it was shaping up to be a really good
day. He added that he and daughter Anastin were open on the first
Small Business Saturday, but with the storm and the lack of shoppers
they had closed at 1 p.m. to head home out of the storm.
This week, the store was packed with anxious shoppers who were
grabbing up a lot of popcorn as well as the many other offers at
Abe’s.
The Land of Lincoln CEO class of
2026 also benefited from the large turnout at Abe’s. Danielle
Dueringer, Luca Massena and Drayden Neal had a table set up where
they were selling popcorn. Dueringer explained that for their group
business project the class had decided to do a popcorn pop-up. The
event at Abe’s was their last pop-up of the year. The money they
earned from their pop up will go toward their individual businesses
that will be showcased at the annual LLCEO Tradeshow to be held at
the end of the school year.
Julie Bates at Ink & Imprint was
combining Retail Therapy and Small Business Saturday, much to the
delight of the shoppers who were flocking in to check out the
possibility of a good book for someone on their Christmas gift. Each
buyer received a wrapped gift from Bates, but also, if their check
exceeded $25, the shopper could spin the wheel for additional
discounts or special gifts.
Heading back out and moving closer
to the downtown square, Eileen Mullins at Sir Renna Tea was having a
good time in spite of the fact that she was working with a “broken
wing.” Some folks may already know that Mullins is looking to retire
and is hoping someone will buy her business so she can head on up to
the northern part of the state to be near her grandkids.
Since opening, she and her sister Dana Fronckewicz have worked
together to keep the store running on a daily basis.
Saturday though, Eileen had a new helper, her twin sister Kathleen
Taylo. Mullins explained that Fronckewicz had already relocated and
had obligations that prevented her from coming back. So Mullins
called on her twin who was happy to travel from St. Louis to Lincoln
to help out on what promised to be a busy day.
At J & M Meat Market both Terry and
Robbin McClallen were busy, as were their staff, who help out on a
daily basis. Terry was hanging out behind the meat counter, helping
a line of customers who were there to take advantage of fresh,
locally grown meats.
Robbin was keeping track of the
refreshment table and reminding folks to sign up for free door
prizes as the business added an open house event to their Small
Business Saturday.
Asked if they were busy, Robin said indeed they were seeing a large
number of shoppers and many of them were buyers. She told about
Terry getting a call from a customer wanting to know if he had
standing rib roasts on hand. Terry had said yes he had three, a
papa, a mama, and a baby. She said the customer quickly told Terry
he would take the mama and the papa.
At Verdant Salon, the name of the
game was Santa hats. Inside the shop, owner Grace Stephenson was
flitting about talking with customers and working on some hair. Her
helpers were busy, manning tables for the Santa hats and other goods
as well as helping with customer checkout. Shoppers could do much
more than get a new cut or fresh nails, Verdant offers a variety of
gift items including clothing.
Outside Guest House Coffee &
Pastries Jeff and Katie Hoinacki (GHC&P Owner Ethan Hoinacki’s
parents) were busy at a special little pop up. While it was not
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” the sweet cinnamon smell of
“Heavenly Nuts” was drawing plenty of attention from shoppers.
Inside the shop the three baristas on duty were keeping busy as
folks stopped by to grab a warm or cold coffee concoction and “sit a
spell” for heading back out the continue their holiday shopping.
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Heading on down the street a stop
at Small Town Creations was absolutely essential for many of the
shoppers visiting Lincoln on Saturday. Owner Kathy Williams with her
fun-loving team of Vickie Purcell and Amy Hyde were having a high
old time visiting with customers and entertaining them with the
matching sweatshirts the three wore.
In case you can’t see it, the
shirts all say, “Co-workers are like Christmas lights, they hang
together, half of them don’t work, and the other half aren’t very
bright.” Hyde said Williams had made the shirts herself just for her
staff. Williams said it was a tongue in cheek commentary because in
reality, she loves her staff and thinks they all work hard for her.
Williams was another retailer who was quite excited to see the Small
Business Saturday Take Two/Re-do. Living out in the country in rural
Lincoln/Beason area she said on the “real” day she had risen and
told her husband Jim that she was definitely going to town and open
her store. He had responded that he was sure she could get to town,
but if she stayed the day, he was also pretty sure she wouldn’t get
home. Consequently, she had been closed on the real day. She said it
was important that not only she, but her staff and customers be safe
on such a blustery day.
Therefore, when the store was crowded on Take Two, Williams was
delighted and up to her eyebrows in shoppers.
Taking a break from the west side
of the square and heading over to Broadway Street, Mary Todd
Hallmark was as busy as could be as well. Most people know that
owner Julie Tarter is going to be retiring in 2026. She’s been on
that track for the past several months and had offered up her
business for sale. Thus far she has had no takers. She said recently
that she’s reached the point where she can’t wait for someone to
come along, so she will be shutting down the business for good in
2026.
Right now, that is a bonus for holiday shoppers because except for
the Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, everything in the store is on sale.
This weekend, shoppers enjoyed a 40 percent discount at the register
on everything from greeting cards to gift wrap to an excellent
selection of jewelry, clothing, and novelty gift items.
Next door to Mary Todd, Copper
Penny owner Theresa Schieffer was also enjoying a good day. The
store sells antiques and vintage in a wide variety. Shoppers looking
for specific items for the collector in the family were perusing the
store and grabbing up the perfect, well-loved gift.
Returning to Kickapoo street, two
must stops are The Bee and Debbie’s Downtown Floral.
Melanie Welch saw a gigantic
turnout at The Bee, as shoppers took advantage of Retail Therapy and
Take Two to grab up not just gift items but holiday decorations for
their tree and clothing for the festive season.
Debbie Theobald’s store, Debbie’s
Downtown Floral is an absolutely beautiful store that is much more
than cut flowers and potted plants, although they do sell those.
Stepping inside, the view from the front door is breathtaking and
inspiring as the walls are lined with decorated Christmas trees,
each with a theme, and hundreds of items perfect for sprucing up any
room in any home for the holiday season.
With the day wearing away, there
was time for one last stop on Saturday and that had to be the
Overstock Outlet in Lincoln. Owned by Brian and Marshawn Stevens,
Overstock is new in Lincoln, having been open only since May of this
year. As a new business, working to build their reputation in
Lincoln as a must shop for when you are looking for a selection of
“this and that’s,” The couple had been looking forward to their
first Small Business Saturday in Lincoln. However, they are another
set of business owners who do not live within the city limits, and
the chances of safe travels for them to their store and home again
at the end of the day were slim.
Therefore, they had made the painful decision to close on November
29th.
When the suggestion came to do Take Two, they were all in and
excited for another chance to beef up their bottom line for their
first year of business.
On Saturday, it was paying off big time for the pair, as shoppers
crowded the check out counter with shopping carts filled and arms
loaded with those must have items. The store offers quality new in
the box merchandise from house wares, kitchen wares, stationery,
health and beauty and tons of toys all at a fraction of the cost of
traditional retail stores.
Brian and Marshawn were both busy throughout the day, and Brian said
they were really excited about the number of customers who had come
in and the number who said they would be back.
All in all, it was a fun day and a good day for all the small
businesses in Lincoln. LDN enjoys shopping as much as the next
person and couldn’t resist making purchases at a number of the
stores. But as the day grew late, it was obvious they were not going
to make it to every store, and that was sad, because there was still
plenty to see, and plenty to buy. But the business owners will tell
you, that just means we have to go again, and we will, and we hope
you will too.
Businesses are, generally speaking,
open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to mid to late afternoon.
Some of the retailers are staying open for extended hours on
Thursday evening and some are opting to be open on Sunday and Monday
through the holiday season. Most all of the stores are active on
social media, so search for their pages to learn who is open and
what their exact hours are.
And, finally, a trip to Lincoln
during the holiday season means a chance to take a leisurely ride
around the square in a beautiful horse and carriage. The rides were
free throughout the day and it offered an excuse for tired shoppers
to get off their feet and sit a spell, and on top of that, the ride
around the Logan County Courthouse square provides a slightly
elevated view of the highly decorated Winter Wonderland Christmas
trees on the courthouse lawn.
[Nila Smith] |
