Seal Beach’s Main Street merchants are gearing up for the holiday season.
That means coming up with some events that will draw shoppers to Old Town Seal Beach’s unique atmosphere.
To that end, Brooke Reid, owner of the Harvey Girls Gallery, a boutique at 212 Main Street in Seal Beach, and Liz Sontag of Elison rd., a woman’s clothing store at 211 1/2 Main Street, are organizing the inaugural First Friday on Main event that will kick off in Seal Beach’s Old Town this Friday, Oct. 5.
The idea is to offer special deals, discounts and fun from merchants on the street.
“It’s fun. Harvey Girls started in Kansas City Mo. In Kansas City, First Friday is a huge deal,” said Reid, of Harvey Girls. “We just brought that tradition out here and now it seems as though the better part, or all of Main Street is going to start participating. This will be going on the first Friday of every month from 3 p.m. until each store closes.”
Some restaurants will be open later than some of the boutiques.
Those businesses that plan to participate include: Elison Rd., Harvey Girls Gallery, The Castle Company Antiques, 320 Main, Dahlia’s Boutique, The Abbey, Knock Knock Toys and Gifts, Home By The Seashore, Old Vintage Cottage, The Crema Cafe, Mac-Fusion, The Hangout, Whole Body Vibe, Temecula Olive Oil Company, Upstairs Downstairs Salon, J. Ensemble, O’Malley’s on Main, and others.
“Everybody will be doing something different. At Harvey Girls we have live music, refreshments and a different special each month,” Reid said. “Restaurants might feature a dish or have a drink special and retailers will do everything from discounts off or gifts with purchase or feature a different item each month. Everybody’s is doing their own thing and that’s what’s so cool about it.”
Harvey Girls has been in business about 27 years.
“We have been in Seal Beach about a year and a half,” Reid said. “We definitely love having something that sparks interest on Main Street. Actually, Elison Rd., Castle Company and Harvey Girls have been throwing First Friday open houses for about a year. Our customers are who kept saying they wished more stores on the street would get involved. Liz and I decided we should hit the pavement and invite the other businesses on the street to participate.”
Reid said the response was overwhelmingly positive. “Everybody was ready to jump right in and kick it off and Oct. 5 is our first one,” Reid said. “We also have a Facebook page: First Friday on Main. All of the business participating that have a Facebook page will have posts stating what their specials are that month.”
