Stores in SF gear up for Small Business Saturday

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- As you start your holiday shopping, small businesses are hoping you don't spend all your money at the mall or online. There's a nationwide campaign to encourage you to shop small, and it's coming up this weekend.

At Limu on Fillmore Street in San Francisco, there is excitement about the big event that comes after Black Friday and before Cyber Monday. It's called Small Business Saturday.

"This brings special attention to those small businesses that give the city its uniqueness and the perspective for locals," said Limu employee Simone Derayeh.

Shops along that corridor will stay open until 9 p.m. Saturday with special activities. And they aren't alone in trying to cash in. It's the fifth year for this nationwide campaign.

The U.S. Small Business Administration says 7 out of 10 Americans have heard of Small Business Saturday, and those who participated last year spent $5.7 billion. And there's a payoff.

"Every year, two-thirds of the new jobs are created by small businesses," said Tong Qin with the Small Business Administration.

For many small businesses, like Cliff's in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, revenues from holiday shoppers carry them through the rest of the year. The push to shop small has made a difference.

"Before the shop small, the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving it was like a morgue around here," said Cliff's Variety employee Terry Asten. "It was just dead. So it's really made a huge impact."

Mayor Ed Lee bought stuff at Cliff's as part of a new citywide campaign he announced Tuesday that encompasses the entire holiday season. It's called Shop and Dine in the 49, an effort to keep local dollars local. Shoppers that ABC7 News talked to say they get it.

"It makes sense to support their jobs than some big corporation," said San Francisco shopper Danny Reagan.

An extra incentive to lure shoppers to San Francisco -- a moratorium on disruptive construction starting Wednesday through New Year's.