Small Business Saturday in city begins with breakfast crawl
Rick Shrum/Observer-Reporter
Lisa Aprea, left, and Nancy Ogburn, owners of Chicco Baccello, are seen in this November photo.
Rick Shrum/Observer-Reporter
Employee Kaisi Ritter, left, and manager Brent Morgan have helped to organize Hopewell Diner on Main’s participation in the breakfast crawl.
Crawling out of bed is a routine for some people, especially on weekends. Crawling for breakfast usually is not part of the equation, but will be next Saturday thanks to more than a half-dozen merchants along or near Washington’s Main Street.
The inaugural Shop Small Breakfast Crawl will be a featured attraction of the city’s annual Small Business Saturday event. No, patrons won’t have to literally crawl from location to location, although some may be on the verge of doing so following Turkey Day and Black Friday. From 8 to 11 a.m., seven businesses will offer small portions of breakfast items to participants, who may stop at any or all locations.
Those seven are: Chicco Baccello, Washington Winery, Marketplace at Emerald Valley, Hopewell Diner, Popcorn Willy, The Table and Southern Yanks Smokehouse. All except The Table (East Chestnut St.) and Southern Yanks (West Chestnut) are on Main.
Shopping, of course, will be an option at any retail location that is open in the city. A number of them will be operating, some offering specials.
Good times are expected to roll for, almost literally, half the day. Small Business Saturday in Washington will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 7 p.m.
“A lot of people will be up in the wee hours Friday, so they can sleep in a little Saturday then shop at small businesses,” said Lisa Aprea, co-owner of Chicco Baccello with Nancy Ogburn. “We’re serving breakfast at these places, something different at each.”
No one had to sell Sarah Collier on any initiatives related to this national celebration of retail, launched by American Express in 2010.
“We’re all about Small Business Saturday,” said the Main Street manager for the Washington Business District Authority, which oversees 14 square blocks of the city. “There are a lot of small businesses in Washington, and 99.2% of them are locally owned and operated.”
The crawl is appealing, partly because it is new, but largely because it is food-oriented. Aprea credits Alisa Fava-Fasnacht, owner and operator of Emerald Valley, with formulating the concept then executing it. Brent Morgan, of Avella, certainly endorses the idea.
“Anytime you get community involvement among the participating restaurants, it’s good for everyone,” said the manager of Hopewell Diner, which opened in early August. “I’d rather have a series of small meals rather than one big meal.”
That will not be the only organized event Saturday. The Sweet Street Cookie Walk, a new event, will run from noon to 3 p.m., and features 12 businesses offering cookies for sampling and recipes for baking. Royal Princess Engagements will host three series of teas: from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; 2 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. And there will be a Festival of Trees, a fundraiser in which patrons make a donation at a participating business with an opportunity to name a tree.
For anyone needing directions – or direction – Collier will be at the Patriots Pavilion, providing maps, breakfast crawl menus and chances to win gift baskets. She will likely be donning a large smile.
“It’s all about our local businesses – and about having a good time,” she said.