Unique, handmade and one-of-a-kind items, fresh food, plants and more were served up Saturday, Nov. 29 as Lopez Imports in Escalon played host to its second annual Small Business Saturday event amid sunny skies and brisk late November temperatures.
Located along Highway 120 on the east end of the city, business spokesperson Alicia Lopez said she was glad to welcome vendors and shoppers alike, hoping to put the focus on small, local businesses.
“I don’t charge any of the vendors,” she said, noting that she wants to provide them with an additional outlet to showcase their goods and services. “It is completely free to the vendors; it’s me giving back to the community and I’m just hoping every year it gets better because I really want to help out as many of the small businesses as I can.”
Lopez said she sought participants through a variety of avenues, from reaching out to the Escalon residents Facebook page, posting on her own business Facebook page, spreading the word through customers of the store as well as local advertising of the event.
Now that her dad is retired, Lopez said she felt the need to honor the heritage of the small business that remains in the family.
“The business itself is 40 years old,” she shared. “It started back in ‘85 as a cherry stand, (it was) a produce stand, a grocery store and around ’92 we changed it to Lopez Imports; it used to be Lopez Produce.”
There is a variety of lawn decorations, pottery, dishes, colorful décor and more at the store itself and Lopez said she was five-years-old when her dad opened the business, so it has always been a way of life for her and her sisters, who now run the store.
Among the vendors on hand Saturday was Cynthia Harris of Patterson, with her Magical Moments business. She said her daughters are homeschooled in connection with Gateway Academy in Escalon, and they recently learned of the Small Business event.
“We do engraving, we specialize in making everything personalized to you so we decided to join Alicia and she has been great, with open arms having us here,” Harris said. “This is my first year doing it and it has been great.”
The Harris family also brought along their equipment for the photos with Santa feature, with the photos sent directly to your phone.
Also taking part for the first time was Paula Vanderzwan of Escalon, with a line of her original ink and watercolor cards, sketches and more, called Sketchy Celebrations.
“I was a customer here last year and I’ve just delved into this business of cards for the most part and I’m loving getting to speak with other Escalonians and people of nearby areas and just getting out and being part of the community,” Vanderzwan said.
Each card is individually designed, featuring those for Christmas, birthdays, and thank you notes as well some framed items.
“Just kind of branching out and seeing what happens,” she said of the home based business.
Lopez also spent some time on Saturday in a gingerbread suit, outside the store, waving to people to encourage them to come inside and check out the Small Business Saturday.
“I really needed to get the community together so they could see (what the business offers), and we could get to know each other and just have some fun,” Lopez said.
