As I walk through the halls of Oyster River High School (ORHS), I see the impact and outreach of local businesses everywhere. The abundance of colorful Red Bull lemonades from Breaking New Grounds, the thrifted clothes from New Moon, Freedom Cafe stickers on water bottles, and the occasional to-go order from Mei Wei are just the start.
As a major part of the American economy, small businesses are in gear for their annual event that supports locally owned and sourced businesses, pushing individuals to generate revenue for local businesses during the holiday season. Small Business Saturday is an event that occurs on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, ultimately serving as a counterpoint to Black Friday.
Small businesses bring in an aspect of culture that can sometimes be difficult to find elsewhere, depending on where you live. Victoria Yu (‘29), granddaughter of the owner of Mei Wei, a local Asian restaurant downtown Durham, says, “there’s not a lot of Asian people in Durham. It brings a little bit of culture, even if it is Americanized. It adds to the community a little more.”
Not only do small businesses add to the culture of a town, but they often have a personal mission of their own. The Freedom Cafe is a non-profit whose goal is to help end human trafficking and educate people on the issue. Libby Bessette (‘27) has been around the cafe her whole life, her dad being one of the founders of the shop. Bessette highlights the importance of supporting a local business, saying, “buying from Starbucks doesn’t directly affect people in your community, whereas with small businesses, they’re people that you know. I think it’s really important that we have Small Business Saturday because it brings attention to that.”
More than half of Americans work at or own a small business, and in NH alone about 97% of businesses are small businesses, says the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Small Business Economic Impact Study by American Express shows every dollar you spend at a local business, about 67 cents will stay in the community, and 44 cents will go directly to the owner of the small business. Every dollar spent at a big corporation such as Amazon, anywhere from 60-90% of your dollar will go directly back to Amazon, and the rest of the dollar will never get back to the seller. Amy Sterndale works for the NH Small Business Development Center, which is funded by the Small Business Administration. Sterndale says, “where your dollars go really really matters, and if you just put some thought into it, it makes a huge difference.”
At the end of the day, everyone wants to find their community. A town is a start, but what makes the town a community are the cornerstone businesses. Lucy Adjemian (‘27), sales associate at local secondhand store New Moon, has been working almost every Saturday for two years. Adjemian says, “[U.S. Small businesses] create a sense of community. With Amazon or large cooperations, it’s all online; you don’t interact with anyone. Just having those human experiences are the backbone of our community. I think it helps people connect.”
This year Small Business Saturday will be observed on November 29th around the United States. Stay tuned for more Small Business recognition May 4th-10th in 2026 for National Small Business Week.
-Bel Ejarque
Visual courtesy of Mei Wei, Freedom Cafe and New Moon
Mouth of the River 
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