Business communities throughout Butler County have found ways to engage with their customers and residents by holding special events throughout the year to bring people to their storefronts and it’s a win-win for everyone.

In Zelienople, the small businesses along Main Street held the second annual Cocoa Crawl Saturday. It’s a super simple concept — business owners who wished to participate offered free hot cocoa to their customers for a few afternoon hours and shoppers turned out to enjoy the day.

The increase in foot traffic brought in welcomed business, especially given the typical slow down in the weeks that follow Christmas each year.

The event was made up of restaurants, boutiques and other Zelienople businesses between Grandview Avenue and Beaver Street.

Spencer Mathew, of Mathew Jewelers, said little events like the Cocoa Crawl bring in hundreds, sometimes thousands of shoppers.

Each business offered its own special version of cocoa, so to enjoy the full experience, shoppers made their way into a variety of storefronts along Main Street.

Some store owners, like Deb Tallerico, whose family owns one of Main Street’s newer businesses, Papa Joe’s Wine Cellar, said such events offer residents and patrons a reason to venture into a store they may not have seen before.

Over the holidays, the Harmony Business Association held two Harmony Shopping Strolls, events created to highlight the community’s businesses and raise money to fight food insecurity. The shopping evenings were accompanied by live music by the Butler County Symphony Orchestra, a live Nativity scene and Christmas carolers.

Main Street in Saxonburg is a collection of small businesses whose owners are proud of the atmosphere they’ve created in the borough that are organized by Saxonburg Area Business Association and Little Shops of Saxonburg.

Organized events dedicated to sparking interest in our towns main streets and business corridors has proven fruitful. As of October, all commercial real estate on Main Street in Saxonburg was occupied.

When businesses work together, they’re able to address their specific needs in more direct ways. Those involved in the Little Shops of Saxonburg know what their fellow business owners need and know how best to make it happen. Who better to figure outw ays to bring new patrons to Harmony than the business association?

In a lot of ways, fostering community togetherness in the heart of so many business districts hearkens back to a simpler time in this country when storefronts were full and shopping local was a way of life.

When businesses band together in these ways, communities grow.

— KL