KALISPELL — Known for its small and creative businesses, downtown Kalispell participates in Small Business Saturday each year, encouraging citizens to shop local and support their community entrepreneurs.
Big Sky Bricks, a Lego resale store nearing its one-year anniversary, was stocked up and ready for the shopping event. Co-owner and founder Luke Jones credits locals for going out of their way to help the business thrive.
"People enjoy the displays, they enjoy the Legos, just the community that we try to garner here," Jones said.
The support from the community goes beyond just browsing, with customers choosing to shop local even when prices might be higher elsewhere.
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"The people saying, even if it is more expensive here we're coming here because we want to support you, or we want to come here and participate in your events, you know it's definitely something that is very important for the community," Jones said.
Across the street sits Modern Pastime, a shop that offers variety for every shopper.
"We have everything from clothing to cocktail, we have a kitchen, we have children's," said Tiffeny Taylor, Modern Pastime assistant manager.
Taylor says Small Business Saturday also highlights how businesses support each other in the downtown community.
"Actually all the stores are supportive of each other. If we don't have something somebody is looking for we will always recommend another store that we are aware of, it's just a nice community feel," Taylor said.
Local organizations are also using the day to give back, including Park Side Credit Union with their "Park Side Pays" initiative.
"We literally pay for things so people that are shopping and supporting local business, we're a local credit union ourselves, not for profit. So we were giving out money surprising people, delighting them with some cash, we're paying for their purchases," said Josh Kroll, Park Side Credit Union vice president of marketing.
