BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — This holiday season, Executive Director of Opelika Main Street, Kelsey Sullivan, said she wants to remind community members to remember Opelika’s small businesses when buying Christmas gifts and support local during the winter season.
“We encourage people to shop local all year long, but definitely during the Christmas time,” she said. “Main Street America put out a study that essentially [informed] Main Street America that 40% of our small businesses’ revenue comes from the holiday times. So their annual revenue for the year, half of it comes from just the holiday season. I saw that statistic, and I was like, ‘wow.’ So I went and asked, and our small businesses here in Opelika backed up that fact. So shopping during this time creates a buffer for our businesses going into 2026.”
Sullivan also said intentionality in supporting small businesses contributes to a cycle of generosity from local business owners.
“Another fact that I found from [a study done by] Main Street America is that 70% of small, locally-owned businesses give back to their community in some sort of way — whether they’re a member of a nonprofit organization, they donate to sponsorships or they donate their time,” she said. “So it’s a huge deal that these people rely on the revenue that they’re getting from sales — that’s their livelihood — and then they turn around and they give money back to their community. That’s huge, and our businesses obviously do that — you see it here all the time. People are sponsoring everything because they love this place, which is why I think we have such a special town.”
With many events organized by Opelika Main Street and many other community-driven events highlighting local businesses and artisans this holiday season, Sullivan said she is thankful for a community that stays to shop after the event is over.
“The community’s been great,” she said. “They show up for everything, and our businesses are taking advantage of the events that are happening during the holidays, which makes a difference too. Even myself — I’m always looking for that special gift, and when I’m coming to an event — I may find it there. So that’s a huge benefit, too — [along with] people staying and shopping after the events when they come downtown.’’
Along with ensuring dollars spent are supporting the local economy and community, Sullivan said community members can enjoy curated products that are specially chosen by business owners for locals to enjoy when they purchase from small businesses.
“One thing with shopping local is our merchants have to source things that they feel are quality to sell, because at the end of the day, that’s their reputation,” she said. “So, when you’re shopping local, you’re getting something that someone has specifically picked out to sell in their business, that they think is going to do well.”
This holiday season, Sullivan said she wants to encourage community members to choose local businesses for a couple of their Christmas gifts and think creatively about gift giving with the variety of businesses in Opelika.
“I would love for people to mark off a couple of things off their Christmas list [from businesses in] downtown [Opelika],” she said. “But I think the biggest thing sometimes is not necessarily finding that gift, but still supporting that local business. A lot of people forget about gift cards — you can get a gift card anywhere nowadays, and most of our businesses offer gift cards. So I would challenge people, if they can’t find that perfect gift for somebody, to always remember they can just go grab a gift card from a local business. So I would challenge people to think outside the box when it comes to gift giving in downtown Opelika — support our businesses.”
Additionally, Sullivan said there are many businesses downtown that offer activities or classes that can be given as gifts, allowing community members to gift fun memories to their loved ones.
“There are a lot of experiences that we have downtown that I don’t think some people know about, but that’s a very unique gift too,” she said. “Whether it’s a wine tasting, a bread class, a pottery class or random craft nights — there are so many experiences that people can give. I know I love getting an experience as a gift, so that’s always a giftable option as well — not just a gift card or an item or a trinket — it’s giving somebody an experience of learning how to make some sourdough, painting their own ornament or something else fun.”
Sullivan said she encourages locals to explore downtown Opelika this holiday season and see what the many businesses have to offer. For more information on various aspects of downtown Opelika, visit www.opelikamainstreet.org.
