Buchanan celebrates small businesses on White Saturday
Published 4:32 pm Sunday, November 27, 2016
Khloe Singleton (left) and her brother, Kaleb Singleton (right), visited Santa at the Buchanan District Library on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. They told Santa their wish list and then made crafts with their family. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Alexis Ventsias, a student in the culinary arts program at Buchanan High School, was selling homemade cookies from students in the program in Alan Robandt Antiques in downtown Buchanan on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. The group hopes to raise money for an upcoming trip. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Many shops in downtown Buchanan were sporting Christmas decorations during Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Paige Lewark (left) and Alyssa Farmer (right), baristas at Union Coffee House and Cafe in downtown Buchanan, joke around with one another while brewing coffee for customers on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Beth Rems and her friends, Leigh Ellen and Judy Hurley, enjoyed a stop for a cup of coffee at Union Coffee House and Cafe after checking out Skye Is The Limit gallery in downtown Buchanan. Pictured are (from left) Rems, Ellen and Hurley. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Megan Goodrich (right), a cashier at Union Coffe House and Cafe in downtown Buchanan, rings up the order of a customer while Paige Lewark (center) hands a hot cup of coffee to a customer. The two were working at the coffee shop on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016, in Buchanan. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Tiffany Imhoff, an aviation student at Purdue University, came to spend Thanksgiving with family near Buchanan. She spent Small Business Saturday working on homework at Union Coffee House and Cafe in downtown Buchanan and enjoying local coffee. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Visitors to downtown Buchanan enjoyed many activities, including wreath making sponsored by Fernwood Botanical Gardens, and shopping at local stores. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
Visitors to downtown Buchanan enjoyed many activities, including wreath making sponsored by Fernwood Botanical Gardens, and shopping at local stores. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
The Buchanan District Library in downtown Buchanan hosted Santa Claus for an event during Small Business Saturday on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016. Kids were able to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas and were able to make crafts and enjoy cookies. (Leader photo/JOE KUHARIC)
A city does not have to be huge like Chicago to draw visitors.
On a brisk November day, plenty of folks from in- and out-of-town came to downtown Buchanan to peruse local shops for Small Business Saturday.
Next to a small table covered in circlets of twisted willow branches and pine needles, Darcy Ebersol of Middlebury, Indiana, took a break from shopping to watch some passersby.
“It’s been a good day, and I’m really enjoying myself!” she said.
Ebersol had already visited several shops around downtown and planned to stay all day and watch the parade in the evening to see the joy on the faces of the children as Santa passed by.
Nearby, inside the Union Coffee House and Café, patrons sipped on lattes, chatted and played chess.
Next to a window partially fogged up by a pistachio honey nut lemon tea latte, Tiffany Imhoff stared intently at a document on her MacBook. She is an aviation student from Purdue visiting family for Thanksgiving who needed a place to study.
“I was recommended this place by my family, so I thought I’d give it a shot,” she said. “I like the environment a lot more [at local coffee shops]. Usually there is some quirkiness about it; it’s a little more special.”
Across the café at a high-top table, three friends took a rest from perusing Skye Is The Limit Gallery to grab a bite and enjoy some coffee.
Leigh Ellen made a trip down from Wisconsin to Michigan for Thanksgiving, and took the opportunity to reconnect with her friend, Beth Rems of South Bend, Indiana, by visiting the gallery. Judy Hurley of Lakeville, Indiana, who was visiting Buchanan for the first time, joined the two.
“I’ve never been here before [the café] but I’m enjoying the coffee, and I enjoyed the art,” Hurley said. “It seems like a nice little town.”
Rems is friends with Skye Funnell, the owner of Skye Is The Limit, and wanted to share the gallery with more of her friends.
“We’re down here trying to support him, and trying to support Buchanan,” Rems said. “It is a nice little community.”
It is hard to ignore someone wearing a chef’s hat outside of a kitchen, and that is what Alexis Ventsias was banking on. Ventsias is a culinary arts student at Buchanan High School, and down the street from the café, at Alan Robandt Antique, Vintage and Modern, she was helping to raise funds for a class trip.
Students from the two classes baked homemade cookies and treats and were hoping to get some attention, and they saw some success.
“So far [sales have been] great,” Alexis said. “It’s been a little slow in here, but we’re bringing people in!”
