Somewhere between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is a more local way to shop: Small Business Saturday.
The event began in 2010 as a way to promote mom-and-pop shops and small businesses around the country, like Darlene's Real Swell Toys in Tehachapi.
Store owner Darlene Carlos says even in the online-shopping-age, she was confident her store would succeed.
“We just always felt like we had a good following pretty much from the beginning, that wanted something a little different," she said. "You know, a smaller toy store.”
She says toy stores like hers offer products and experiences that box stores do not.
“You do find a lot of folks, they do find something a little more unique, a little more different," she said. “So I would like to see the small stores stay in business.”
Carlos says the products that you find at her store are true to the store's name.
“We do like to keep some of those 'real swell' toys," she said. "The old toys that people come up to me all the time and say 'So much of this reminds me about when I was a kid.'”
Click here for more information about Darlene's Real Swell Toys.
Click here to find places near you participating in Small Business Saturday.
