Shoppers forgo the internet, fill Oakmont business district for Small Business Saturday
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When Mystery Lovers Bookshop opened in 1990 on Oakmont’s brick-lined Allegheny River Boulevard, it didn’t contend with online shopping. There was no Amazon Prime service, no Target app, no click-n-ship from Walmart.com.
But co-owner Tara Goldberg-DeLeo said the quaint bookstore, with its checkerboard floors and the smell of fresh paper in the air, has been shaped in recent years by the internet.
During the covid-19 pandemic, traffic on the shop’s website exploded and it was mailing more and more books all over the nation, Goldberg-DeLeo said. Its staff of six also started delivering books within a five-mile radius of Oakmont’s business district. They began offering subscription services, with titles mailed directly to readers’ homes.
“People have a lot of choices where they can shop, but they also want a Main Street,” said Goldberg-DeLeo, 48, of Oakmont, who has co-owned Mystery Lovers with Kristy Bodnar since August 2018. “We get a lot of support from the community and from surrounding towns.”
That support was more than evident Saturday, as area shoppers filled locally owned shops and “Ma and Pa” businesses throughout the nation on a day those in retail have dubbed Small Business Saturday. Three breweries and a coffee shop in Verona participated in a joint marketing campaign with 21 businesses in Oakmont to publicize the day.
Around since 2010, Small Business Saturday encourages the public to support local independent businesses by “shopping small” from the Saturday after Thanksgiving throughout the holiday shopping season.
Started by American Express, the financial services company, the day began as way for independents to counter large retail chains and online retailers. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has been an official cosponsor of the event for 12 years.
Krista Comunale opened her Oakmont storefront an hour early Saturday for what she expected to be the biggest sales day of the year at Fashion Rx Boutique. She was counting on her regulars.
“I think my normal customer base, they’re the ones always coming for these Saturdays,” Comunale said. “I think if you know, you know.”
Shoppers Kyra Quinn and Megan Farkasovsky were among those who knew.
The best friends, who grew up together in Forest Hills, said they trekked to Oakmont’s business district Saturday to “shop local” for Christmas gifts. At Mystery Lovers, Quinn snagged the colorful nonfiction book “Pittsburgh Rising,” a retro video-game mug, and a “grammar police” sticker.
They capped the afternoon jaunt — amid sunny weather, no less — by grabbing a bite to eat at Oakmont Bakery.
“It’s really important for me to support small businesses,” said Quinn, 47, who today lives in State College, Centre County. “And, when I go back to State College, I’m going to shop local. It’s really important for me to not support corporations.”
“When I can, I like to come out and support the local economy,” added Farkasovsky, 47, who lives in the Blackridge section of Wilkinsburg.
Lucas and Hannah Cummin flew from their North Carolina home to Southwestern Pennsylvania a few days ago to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. They grabbed a lunch with their 6-month-old daughter, Arlene, at the bustling Oakmont Bakery.
Lucas Cummin knows Pittsburgh bakeries. The academic researcher used to live in Point Breeze, not far from Five Points Artisan Bakeshop, which sits near his neighborhood’s border with Squirrel Hill. On Saturday, though, he was all about Oakmont.
“We just decided to come out and get something to eat — there are a couple good bakeries around, but not all of them have seating,” said Cummin, 31, of Durham, N.C.
“(The baby) definitely puts a timer on all of this,” laughed Hannah Cummin, 28, also of Durham, N.C.
The Cummins were far from alone at Oakmont Bakery, which brought on a staff of 65 people to serve the crowds that packed the store, owner Marc Serrao said.
Serrao started his bakery in a 1,000-square-foot Oakmont storefront in 1988, the year his son, Tony, now a co-owner of the operation, was born.
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the Oakmont Bakery — now in an 18,500-square-foot building with two warehouses — had its biggest sale day ever, he said.
They expect to sell 10,000 boxes of a dozen Christmas cookies each day during the 10 days leading up to Dec. 25.
On Wednesday, the bakery served more than 5,000 separate customers, compared to a “typically busy Saturday” of about 2,500 to 3,200 customers, said Serrao, 61, of Plum.
His staffers were serving about 400 people an hour.
“Our cashiers are amazing,” Serrao said. “Our employees are the heartbeat of our business, no question.”
Goldberg-DeLeo, the bookstore owner, also was prepped this weekend for increased business. Her shop starts its Sunday hours, which it runs through Christmas, this weekend.
Some things were steady sellers Saturday at Mystery Lovers; others come and go with the season.
“We sell, obviously, lots of kids books, lot of mysteries. But at this time of year, our general fiction and nonfiction go through the roof,” she laughed. “It’s also the time of year we sell lots of our gift-y stuff.”
Mystery Lovers hopes to continue to draw in the crowds next weekend. They host Boston-based author Josh Funk, who is doing a national tour for his book “Dear Unicorn,” on Dec. 2 at 10:30 a.m.