This Holiday, Birmingham Businesses Experience Best Year Since 2007

Despite the snowy weather, shoppers have been turning out at Birmingham businesses this holiday season, giving the downtown district a busy and profitable end to 2010.

According to Executive Director John Heiney, downtown Birmingham retailers are seeing their best year since 2007. The city welcomed 33 new retailers, restaurants and retail service businesses downtown this year.

"Sales are up, and shopper sentiment seems strong," Heiney said. "Retailers report to me that the mood among shoppers is upbeat, more so than the past few years."

This sentiment was echoed by Karen Daskas, who co-owns Tender, the luxury women's boutique. "There's a definite improvement over last year," Daskas said. "There's an air of confidence with the clients."

Daniella Schindler, co-owner of , has also seen the uptick in shopping this year. This is the first Christmas for Scandia in downtown Birmingham, after moving from The Collections at Somerset in Troy to its current location at 237 Pierce St. this summer.

"This is our first holiday in Birmingham and it's going pretty well," Schindler said. "We're really pleased about our reception here (and) I'm sure it's not just because of the holidays."

Daskas said it has been encouraging to see shoppers choosing local stores over the mall or other national retail chains.

"People want to shop locally more," she said. "I've been hearing this more than ever before. Being a small business owner, that's great to hear. And it's not just Birmingham, but in the surrounding communities — Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills — as well."

co-owner Debbie Vail also noted more traffic this year, although she said parents are sticking to their budgets this year when buying holiday gifts. Customers are asking themselves how much their child actually needs, Vail said, and aren't spending as extravagantly as they have in years past.

"People are more conscious of prices (and) sales even more than last (year)," Vail said.

Though Vail noted she's optimistic about how much the store will pull in this holiday season, Adventures in Toys continues to be impacted by the rise of online shopping. Like Daskas, she said she hopes people continue to shop where they live.

"It's important to support your local stores because your money goes back to the community," Vail said.

Christmas is perennially a busy season for , the ice cream and candy shop on Old Woodward. Store manager Amanda Baldas said things couldn't be better. "We are happy that things are going well and we love being in Birmingham," she said.