The Shorewood Insider

'Shop Small' Goes Big in Shorewood

Shorewood retailers, restaurants and pubs reported steady traffic and more during Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, 2012

Patch tracked down busy entrepreneurs on Monday to find out how Small Business Saturday went in Shorewood, and the response was a unanimous “Great!” followed by a Monday-errand-running, “I have to do a million things today!”  Shorewood staples such as the Garden Room, Anaba Tea Room, Shop, Goldi’s, Harry’s, Oakcrest, William Ho’s, Harley’s had steady traffic over the weekend. According to Doug McDonald, the general manager at the Garden Room and Anaba Tea Room, traffic was up compared to last year. “We reserve our big holiday sale for the Shorewood BID Stop, Shop and Restore! holiday event on Dec. 8. That being said ... our Friday to Sunday sales this year increased 18% over last year for both stores. This is the first year we promoted a ‘…

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Jenny Heyden

9:42 am on Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Waxwing received the “Best New Retailer” award from Shepherd Express just days before the big weekend, and saw steady traffic as well at the store and at the booth at Art vs. Craft downtown.   more ›

Which Do You Prefer — Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

It's time to get your shop on, and rise of online shopping and Cyber Monday has given deal-hungry consumers some options.

With Thanksgiving occurring on the earliest possible day this year, the official holiday shopping season is as long as it can be. For years, the Friday following Thanksgiving — Black Friday — was the unquestioned king of that season. But the furious growth of the Internet has spawned Cyber Monday, an online shopping frenzy that grew 22 percent from 2010 to $1.25 billion in sales in the United States. It still pales in comparison to Black Friday, which last year generated $52.4 billion in sales, up from $45 billion in 2010. Many shoppers enjoy the early rising, elbow-to-elbow aisles and energy of in-person shopping on Black Friday, and the game-planning that goes with it. Others would prefer to sit in their home or office and cross off gift…

•  78 Comments
• Photos (1)

The Anti-Alinsky

9:13 pm on Wednesday, November 21, 2012

No Steve ®, they were stimulus car theives.   more ›

The Shops of Grand Avenue Holiday Hours

Downtown mall will be open an extra hour each day this holiday season to accommodate shoppers.

Some residents and businesses will start stringing up the Christmas lights as soon as the Halloween decorations come down, but hardcore shoppers know when their dream season begins. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has become the accepted if not unofficial start time of the Christmas rush. It's a huge day for retailers but only the first of a roughly month-long extravaganza. And thanks to Abe Lincoln, who decreed Thanksgiving a national holiday, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who signed into law that it should fall on the fourth Thursday in November, and Pope Gregory XIII, who blessed the calendar we use by papal bull, 2012 has the longest possible shopping season. To explain: With Nov. 1 falling on Thursday, the fourth Thursday and …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

CowDung

11:48 am on Monday, November 12, 2012

Are there any stores worth going to at Grand Ave. anymore? It's been a while since I have been there, but I don't recall it being worth the price of parking...   more ›

What Are Bayshore Holiday Shopping Hours?

The major retail destination extends hours beginning on Black Friday, but Kohl's gets started earlier. Like now.

Not everyone is waiting until Black Friday to launch the holiday shopping season. At Bayshore Town Center, the official tree lighting is 6 p.m. Nov. 16 — but Kohl’s is even weeks ahead of that launch at the North Shore’s largest shopping destination. The retailer’s Bayshore location started holiday hours on Sunday, Oct. 28. The store is open until 11 p.m. through Nov. 3 then gets started in earnest Nov. 7. Kohl’s is open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Nov. 7-8, then 7 a.m. to midnight Nov. 9-10. More holiday hours are posted on the store’s front door through Nov. 17. Bayshore holiday hours begin officially at 7 a.m. on Black Friday, Nov. 23. The mall remains open until 10 p.m. that day, and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 24.  From there, standard 10 a.m. open …

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Shop Shorewood Stress-Free on Saturday

More than 40 local businesses will offer deals and discounts, free drinks, massages and acupuncture, during the "Stop, Shop and Restore" event.

If you plan to hit the malls and shops Saturday to expand your stockpile of holiday gifts, it may pay to keep it local and shop Shorewood. Shorewood’s Business Improvement District is pulling out all the stops to create a stress-free, relaxing shopping experience with its “Stop, Shop and Restore” event. On Saturday, trolleys will fill Shorewood's business district, offering free rides from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. courtesy of the Shorewood Men's Club, and holiday music from Shorewood Players carolers, Shorewood High School orchestra students, and a brass quartet, sponsored by Shorewood PNC Bank, will create a festive atmosphere. In addition to making the shopping a bit easier this holiday season, more than 40 local businesses are offering …

• Photos (1)

Shopping on Black Friday? Here's What You Need to Know

Sara from SarandipitySaves.com shares her Black Friday shopping tips and tricks, and a few of the top store's best deals.

There's some argument as to why we refer to the Friday following Thanksgiving as "Black Friday." Philadelphia claims their police force coined the term in the 1960s after throngs of folks took to the streets to shop 'till they dropped. Others say the name was adopted by retailers as it was traditionally the first day of the year in which their sales brought them out of the red and into the black. I'm leaning toward the latter explanation as last year more than 138 million consumers took advantage of the deep discounts of Black Friday, spending $45 billion in a single day. This year is expected to be an even bigger event. If you're gearing up to head out and throw elbows to snag the day's biggest steals, here's some tips on how to make it a…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Sara Conrad

11:38 am on Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Rumor has it there will only be about 10 of those available at each store.....but Best Buy will be holding outdoor showings of Harry Potter's latest movie so perhaps waiting in line for one won't be too bad. :)   more ›