Community Corner

Sugar Buzz Serves Up Specials For Small Business Saturday

Owner Debbie Delardi has expanded what she offers to keep her customers coming back.

Sugar Buzz owner Debbie Delardi is going all out for Small Business Saturday this year. The Occoquan merchant is grateful for any event that brings more people into the small town. 

The cupcake shop will have a sale of buy five, get one free, and a special that will be determined. 

"We're gonna do cider and make it more of a holiday festivity thing," Delardi said, noting that it would be similar to the town's holiday open house event the weekend before Small Business Saturday.

Occoquan needs more promotion, Delardi said. "I have people who live across the river who say, 'I've not even been in Occoquan. I've lived here for 15 years. I didn't know any of this was back here.'"

"People just don't know," she added. She sells wedding cakes and says that some brides from the DC area complain about the drive to Occoquan, despite the town's convenient proximity to I-95. She wonders if some people confuse Occoquan with Quantico.

"It's north of Potomac Mills," Delardi said. "If you're willing to go to Potomac Mills, you can go to Occoquan." 

Overall, she says her business lately has been somewhat "hit or miss."

"In the wintertime it kind of slows down, but in the summertime, I thought for sure we'd be doing gangbusters, and it's just kind of during the week, we get some people trailing in," she said.

Delardi has expanded her business to include an eating area in the back and now offers regular and panini sandwiches, with ham, turkey, or roast beef.

"What I was finding was that if a group of people come in and one person wants a sandwich, and everybody else wants something sweet, they'll forgo the cupcake for the one person, leave, and go somewhere else," Delardi said. "So I lose a whole crowd of people that come in. I started doing sandwiches to hold onto those people." 

Regular customers are the backbone of Occoquan business success.

"I want to hold onto people when they walk in the door," Delardi said.  

Small Business Saturday is on Nov. 30 this year, two days after Thanksgiving. It is a day for everyone to support the small businesses that their community thrives on. American Express founded the day in 2010 to help small businesses get exposure during the holiday season, when they might be otherwise overlooked. 

Are you a local merchant participating in Small Business Saturday? Leave a comment.


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