The upcoming event, Shop Hoboken, taking place June 11th and 12th, looks to draw a large crowd of local residents with over 30 local businesses participating in Shop Hoboken. Organized by Anastasia Kamper, owner of Anastasia’s Accessories, Shop Hoboken aims to bring awareness to the local community about the importance of shopping locally. Stores will be offering discounts both days to encourage support of local businesses in Hoboken.

Luxe Face & Body owner Megan Carnahan sees Shop Hoboken as a great way to work with other small business owners to promote each other’s businesses. Carnahan hopes that participating in this event will draw new customers and bring uptown shoppers downtown, saying, “three years later I still hear people say, ‘I didn’t know about this store’, as they stumble upon Luxe by chance”. These kind of interactions are what led Carnahan and Adrienne Kowalski, from Toots & Tallie, to participate in Shop Hoboken. Both women see a need for more community awareness of the business and services available.

Kowalski has been in Hoboken 5 years and has seen the shift from local support of businesses to online shopping. She wants residents of Hoboken to realize local businesses need their support, saying “While the internet seemingly offers a convenient shopping experience, no dollars go back to the local community when people shop online. As local merchants we must also fight the stereotype that our prices are not competitive with large chains and the internet”. Kowalski believes Shop Hoboken will be a step in the right direction to breaking stereotypes of small businesses.

Rory Chadwick, owner of Midtown Authentic, recognizes the hard work that goes in to running a business and believes Shop Hoboken is an excellent way to gain more loyal customers. “All of us have this amazing dream to be successful, and we put in our hours, ideas, wisdom and dreams to stay open. It’s a lot of hard work and we do it by ourselves. I want to help make sure we keep our doors open”.

Chadwick decided to look for the support of Mayor Zimmer and the town when Kamper asked him to help her publicize the Shop Hoboken. A week after reaching out to the mayor asking for a meeting amongst a few participating business owners, Chadwick sat down with Zimmer and her colleagues, Juan Mello and Ian Sacs, and left with the town “behind us 100%”. Chadwick is excited to see the town support Shop Hoboken and noted that there has already been a substantial amount of response from local articles and people sharing these articles on social media pages like Facebook and Twitter.

Ultimately, Chadwick and his fellow business owners believe Shop Hoboken will help introduce the community to the local businesses that often fly under the radar and increase support of shopping locally. As Carnahan emphasized, “Often, locals don’t know of all the unique and fabulous stores in their community”. Shop Hoboken and the people behind it are determined to change just that. Kowalski wants people to experience all Hoboken has to offer, saying, “If everyone gets out as a community and explores the local businesses, I think many will be surprised at how much Hoboken businesses have to offer, in terms of both selection and price."