Sayville businesses eye First Friday plan to boost sales
More than a dozen specialty shops line the long block on Sayville’s South Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Collins Avenue. Eleanor Cheslak says the half-mile stretch is one of the village’s best-kept secrets.
She and a few of her fellow business operators would like to let the secret out, and starting tomorrow they will.
Though South Main business owners said the First Friday promotion is tied more to their easy-to-miss locations, there is an underlying concern: the economy.
“Businesses here, like everywhere, are worried about the economy, so that’s a small part of it,” said Nathan King, who with his wife owns Lealand Eve, a South Main novelty shop. “We help shoppers with lower prices; they help us by coming to our shops.”
First Fridays will be observed the first such day of every month, and about 15 businesses on South Main will stay open until 10 p.m., three to six hours longer than usual, and offer discount pricing, refreshments and in-store entertainment. Signs urging “Shop South Main” will hang in most window fronts.
The promotion is the brainchild of King, an art director at Austin & Williams, a Hauppauge advertising agency. King, who is originally from Bethlehem, Pa., remembers as a youngster when the south side of that city had a First Friday promotion.
“My parents and I would go there to listen to music and visit all kinds of stores,” King, 29, said. “It seemed to help rejuvenate that area, and I think it can do some good for the shops on South Main.”
Participating merchants certainly hope so.
