Tristen Cortez EDINBURG – Nothing gets people into the holiday spirit like the gift of giving; for the city of Edinburg that means giving back to small businesses.
Announced on Nov. 13, the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce is introducing a “Shop Small” campaign over the holidays this year that kickstarted with Small Business Saturday on Nov. 25.
Small Business Saturday is a nationally recognized holiday held on the last Saturday of November annually that encourages people to shop and support local businesses in their area.
Nayeli Zenteno, the director of Marketing and Tourism at the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, said the partnership is expanding this year with American Express being a key partner for the campaign.
“So it came about just as an additional initiative through that to help our [business] members out as well as different business owners in their community,” Zenteno said. “We’re going to be doing a program where businesses can sign up on our website to be included in a coupon, a digital coupon book, and they can go ahead and put their promotion.”
Southern Melon Boutique, a local clothing shop in Edinburg created by co-owners Josie and Laura Cantu, celebrated Small Business Saturday last week.
Josie Cantu opened the shop with her sister Laura Cantu in 2020 after the pair had a mutual change of heart and switched careers.
Since starting from their parents’ house, the Cantus upgraded to a larger venue at the corner of a strip mall on Jackson Road, and now an even bigger venue within the same location that allows them to house a breadth of fashion brands big and small.
Josie Cantu attributed the continued growth of the boutique to the connections made with customers thanks to partnerships with other small businesses and creating content on TikTok and other booming social media.
“I’ll talk to my customers for like hours, and we’ll just talk about everything,” Josie Cantu said, “which is why I think they always come back too because we become like friends.”
Josie Cantu added that Southern Melon Boutique will host a Christmas Extravaganza event on Dec. 10, where dozens of local vendors will sell items such as clothing and accessories.
To view a list of small business members partnering for the Shop Small campaign and providing holiday promotions for customers, visit www.edinburg.com/coupons.
