Roanoke’s City Market entices shoppers for rainy Small Business Saturday

ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke’s City Market is a historic hub of local shops and vendors, which made it an idea place to take part in Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday, which follows up Black Firday every year, encourages people to do holiday shopping at small, locally-owned stores. Downtown Roanoke, Inc. attempted to entice shoppers to Market Street Saturday morning with free coffee and donuts.

“We’re almost 100 percent locally owned in Downtown Roanoke,” said Jaime Clark of Downtown Roanoke, Inc. “Local farmers, local artisans...City Market is such a great asset for this community.”

Shoppers who came out Saturday could have bought goods from both streetside vendors and brick-and-mortar stores on Market Street. However, the rain may have discouraged some shoppers from going outside.

“40 percent of our customers haven’t come out, so I feel like we’re going to lose 40 percent of our business,” said Yogi Dev, who owns Sacred Treasures, a Market Street store which sells collectibles. “We wait for this day all year round and we had a great expectation, but because of the rain, not that many people are in downtown.”

City Market has been the center of Roanoke’s local shopping community since 1882.