The leader of Merton Council toured the borough on Small Business Saturday, in a pledge to support local companies and family run businesses.
Small Business Saturday took place on the 5 December, and was dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities across the country.
Mark Allison visited multiple shops, restaurants and cafes who have had a tough year to show the public how important it is to shop local this Christmas.
The goal of small business Saturday is to remind the community to buy from independent businesses and dine local in order to boost local economies and see the community thrive.
One of the businesses Allison visited was Coffee in the Wood, a family run coffee shop who also give back to the community as much as possible by supporting their local food bank to put back into their community.
The Coffee in the Wood owner Sophie Spencer said: “Our community has been so supportive, so we also try to put back in to support it.
“For us, supporting local rather than the big chains are so important, all our staff are local residents who benefit from the hours of the shop being open.
“We made the decision to stay as a takeaway café since we reopened in May as we are quite a small shop so we thought it would be best.
“It was so nice to meet the leader of the council, he was really keen to listen and get involved, it was nice to have a socially distanced chat with him.”
After a difficult year Alisson wanted to support all the amazing businesses and show the public how hard this year has been for them.
There are 6,000 businesses in Merton, of which a great proportion of those are small businesses, family firms and local companies who need the support.
There is so much that the community in Merton offers and as the high street is back up and running, it’s important to keep the local economy going in the toughest of circumstances.
You can read more about Small Business Saturday in Twickenham here and visit Merton Council’s website here.
