Downtown Barrie Store Owners Keeping Positive Through Holiday Season

Christmas has come and gone and amid the new restrictions on businesses, there was still optimism from shop owners in downtown Barrie.

The lead-up to Christmas is always a big one for merchants.

Buying Local, Supporting Local

“The lead-up to Christmas was awesome,” Carly McMillan, Store Manager of Our House told Barrie 360. “We had a lot of people I think shopping local more so than they had before. So yeah, we had a really good Christmas season down here.”

Laura Davis, the owner of Artisan Boutique, had similar thoughts about the local mindset of shoppers this holiday season.

“We had a huge amount of local support, which was fantastic,” said Davis.

“Because we sell all locally made stuff, we had a lot of people trying to still support local. That was great to see and have everyone come in [leading up to] Christmas.”

Sunny Jung, owner/operator of Everleigh Garden said sales at the store were good during the holidays, considering what’s going in the world with the pandemic.

Staying Positive Through Uncertainty

Businesses have been feeling the impact of the new restrictions and capacity limits, but the merchants who spoke to Barrie 360 said they were going to stay positive through the uncertainty.   

“We’ve been adjusting pretty well actually,” said McMillan. “We had a larger amount of people allowed in the store in the lead-up to Christmas, so that helped a lot. Because last year we were only at like five people allowed in, but this year we had ten – that was really big.”

With 2022 just around the corner, it’s been difficult for store owners to plan and prepare for what’s to come.

“That is to be seen,” said Davis. “Everything kind of keeps going up and down.”

“We honestly are just taking it day-by-day and trying to stay positive. I think that’s all you can really do.”

Banner image – file photo

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