Shop St. Joseph already bringing in new business

By Kendra Simpson

Shop St. Joseph began less than a week ago, but local business owners are already seeing an influx of customers.

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce kicked off it’s 18th season of Shop St. Joseph on Nov. 13 to encourage residents to shop at locally owned businesses for unique and creative gifts rather than travelling to Kansas City.

While out shopping at participating businesses, residents will collect tickets for the $10,000 grand prize. Local shops, like The Frog Prince Market & Boutique, have already noticed a wave of new customers and best of all, they keep returning.

“Opportunities like Shop St. Joe, like the wine walks we have Downtown, anything like that really does bring in people who maybe don’t know about the store, who haven’t heard of it before,” The Frog Prince Owner Chelsea Teater said. “It takes little events like that sometimes to get in new people, and then once they come in, they’ll definitely come back again. We’ve already seen a couple of people who just came in for Shop St. Joe that have been in three times this week.”

Shop St. Joseph will continue until Dec. 18 and includes dozens of local businesses. From auto shops, to restaurants, jewelry stores, florists and more, St. Joseph residents will have several options for all of their holiday shopping.

For a complete list of participating businesses, visit the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce website at saintjoseph.com.