Shop-small Saturday reveals tales of those who survived, even thrived during Covid

Penny Landry, left, and her mom, Jackie Landry, both of Rocheser peruse the classic comics section at Jetpack Comics on North Main Street on Saturday. (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - Rochester store owners and managers said that not only were they doing a brisk business on Small Business Saturday, but that they had managed to thrive throughout the Covid pandemic.
"We actually did great during the pandemic," said Jetpack Comics and Games manager Kyle Litchfield. "We had strong sales during the pandemic cause more folks spent more time gaming indoors. It's been strong today, too."
Penny Landry and her mom, Jackie Landry, both of Rochester, who were perusing a collection of classic comics, said they were enjoying their day downtown visiting the various shops.

IT'S IN THE BAG: Jetpack Comics manager Kyle Litchfield shows off one of their canvas Shop Small bags they were giving out on Saturday.

"We're having a great time, just out and about on a beautiful day" said Penny Landry.
Meanwhile, Todd Radict of Skele-Tone Records had a record day on Friday, as it was, in fact, national Record Store Day.
"It was crazy," he said. "We opened up at 8 a.m. and were here about 13 hours."
Radict is another downtown entrepreneur who weathered the pandemic. He said in 2020 gasoline was cheap - 2 bucks a gallon - and he would deliver records all over the area. He also had Facebook live auctions and sales in which folks could order or buy vinyl in real time.
"I got out in front of the pandemic, figured a new way to make the business work," he said. "It worked out fine."
Kris Ebbeson of RiverStones Custom Framing and the Franklin Gallery said she was also doing a brisk business on Saturday.
"We had people showing up before we even opened," she quipped.
Many don't think of The Ridge as having a lot of small businesses, but the Alpaca Craft Barn is one of the clear exceptions.
Managing the store at 150-4 Market Place Blvd., on Saturday was Megan Long, who said if it hadn't been for the pandemic, they wouldn't be at The Ridge.
"The pandemic fueled this shop," Long said. "Our farm in Barrington was shut down to the public due to Covid, so we started here as a pop-up."
The family's Nodrog Farms also sells alpaca items online.
Long said their alpaca products are very popular, especially the alpaca socks, which are 80 percent alpaca and 20 percent nylon and spandex.
As she was describing their composition a woman said they were the best socks she'd ever warn.
"We come all the way from Massachusetts to come to this shop," she said.
Long said the store also sells other crafters' goods like candles and jewelry.