Small businesses dealing with damage from this hurricane season are preparing for what they hope will be a busy day on Saturday. Another challenge they are also facing this year is inflation. 

Maguire Wise is the Owner of Magpies Modern General Store and the Boutique right next store in downtown Sanford. She said it is important to shop locally because all the money spent in the community stays in the community.

“We support our customers with little league and things like that and donations for charities. We appreciate when they give back,” explained Wise.

Hurricane Ian shut down her business for a few days, but luckily, it didn’t cause catastrophic damage.

“We had leaks we’d never seen before because it was definitely an epic storm,” added Wise. “A little bit of minor flooding that we were right on top of.”

She said when people decide to spend their money with her small business, especially after Ian, it means a lot because it helps keep her doors open

“We really appreciate them knowing that we were closed, we were affected, we lost business,” explained the owner of Magpies Modern General Store.

Pairing the storm with another significant issue- inflation- raises the stake for “Small Business Saturday” this year

“We do our best to keep everything competitive and keep our cost down and try to pass that off to them because we know everybody is seeing higher prices for everything,” added Wise.

She said as the cost of goods rises, people are spending less, making the day more important year after year

“It’s gotta keep the lights on, keep our people employed, and keep us buying fun merchandise that you guys like to come to us for,” said Wise.

“Small Business Saturday” is usually her biggest day of the year and she believes it is truly a day that keeps small businesses going.