Local merchants report brisk sales for the holidays

Area shop owners say the Christmas season boosted sales and traffic in their stores.

"We had a very good year last year, too, but it's good to have that carryover and have an even better year this year," Steve Jones, owner of Jones Jeweler, said.

Jones said that a late rush of "typical guys" doing last-minute shopping increased sales, but a steady flow of shoppers had visited throughout December.

Last-minute shoppers were common at many local stores.

Angie Topp, owner of The Cornerstone Shop in New Bremen, said many husbands and wives have been streaming in to buy jewelry, ornaments, pictures and other Christmas accessories.

Kathy Sovinski, co-owner of Venetian Gardens in Celina, said more people are shopping locally.

"People just really seemed in the spirit this year and that has carried over to Main Street," Sovinski said.

Venetian Gardens saw a 'huge" increase in sales this year over last, as many people bought Christmas decorations early in the season and then returned to buy gifts as Christmas grew nearer, Sovinski said.

McSports, with stores in Coldwater and Celina, also saw an increase in sales.

"Both stores have been doing well all year. We've been running sales to keep people coming back, but our Christmas has been even better than last year's," owner Romie Schwieterman said.

Schwieterman said the recent success of both the Coldwater and the Ohio State football programs had definitely helped sales.

"People are definitely buying a lot of Coldwater and OSU gear for Christmas this year," he said.

One advantage local businesses have is they can carry specific gifts not available at the bigger retail chains, St. Marys Hobby Center owner Larry Kramer said.

"We always do really well on plastic models and plastic trains, but this year they became our best seller because they are so hard to find anywhere else," he said.

Kramer said though this year's Christmas season has been about the same as last year's, he has noticed more people coming in for these harder-to-find items.

New local businesses such as Obsession Boutique, 2 Sisters Sweet Shoppe and Main Street Pickins have shared in the wealth as well.

"Our first year has been good, but there was definitely an increase around Christmas. A lot of people were coming in to buy presents, and everyone was spending more money when they came in," Megan Hiler, manager of Obsession Boutique, said.

Angela Caywood and her sister Roseanne Rable had a very good first Christmas in Celina at 2 Sisters Sweet Shoppe.

"People have been coming in for Christmas presents and stocking stuffers. We really want to thank everyone in the community for supporting a new merchant," Caywood said.

Brenda Lefeld's Main Street Pickens has benefited from becoming more established after a year in business as well as from the Christmas rush, she said.

"Sales have been brisk and a lot more people are coming in," Lefeld said.

While business has been good for many local stores, a few are still feeling the pinch from the recession.

"Things have been down the past couple years from the recession, but we are getting steadier now and hopefully we are turning it around," Dave Jacobs, owner of Jacobs Jewelry in Celina, said.

"We've had a good Christmas. It's been happy, fun and bustling. We really appreciate the people who shop local, but unfortunately the recent upswing in the economy hasn't been reflected everywhere," Lisa Davidson, owner of Topsy Turvy Toys in New Bremen, said.

"A lot of people are doing their shopping online now and others are taking their business to bigger stores," Linda Noll, co-owner of the Celina Bargain Center, said.

"For a small business, we didn't do too bad. We had about the same Christmas as last year. We had increases in some areas," Noll added.