Southend BID encourages residents to support the town’s independent retailers

05 Dec Southend BID encourages residents to support the town’s independent retailers

This weekend there’s a chance to bag a Christmas bargain and do some good at the same time – because 7 December is Small Business Saturday.

Launched here in the UK in 2013, Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and celebrate small businesses in their communities.

“It’s something everyone should support, as it’s an opportunity to spend money with independent businesses up and down the High Street and seafront,” say Southend Business Improvement District Manager, Suzanne Gloyne.

“The town centre has loads of family-run shops, restaurants cafes and bars, plus hairdressers and leisure venues in which you’ll find not only fantastic products and services but also wonderful, knowledgeable and passionate people too. Whether you’re meeting a friend for lunch in Tomassi’s, getting a trim in Roman’s Barbers or taking the kids to Winter Wonderland at Adventure Island, you’ll be supporting local businesses and the people they employ.”

To further encourage trade and offer added value for money, firms taking part in Small Business Saturday are also expected to offer all sorts of deals and special promotions to tempt customers. You’ll find many of those offers in independent establishments, such as Caddies and the Royal Hotel, both of which are on the High Street.

Caddies has Santa making a series of appearances between midday and 5pm on Saturday, with Festive Cocktail Specials for the grown-ups running from 6pm in the evening. Don’t miss their delicious Gingerbread Hot Tub, which blends Bailey’s, Double Cream, Gingerbread and Cinnamon!

The Royal Hotel is also serving specially-created Christmas cocktails, for a tasty £10 for two, between 5pm and 7pm. Later, there will also be a DJ playing a live set (from 10pm) to get the Christmas party started.

There will be free car parking all day in car parks near the town centre, including those in llfracombe Avenue and North Road.

Local firms have also been invited to participate in the ‘Best Festive Business’ competition, which launched on Saturday 16 November 2019. Twenty-five entries have already been received from a wide variety of companies, including solicitors, pubs, hotels, salons and shops. Visit the ‘Biz-on-Sea Network’ page on Facebook to see photos of the current entries and vote for your favourite.