KINGWOOD, Texas - Around 164 million people are expected to shop Thanksgiving weekend. Many of them were out for “Small Business Saturday." It’s a way to spotlight mom and pop shops during the holidays.
And when you drive through Town Center along Kingwood Drive, you see shops are slowly reopening after Harvey flooded them out.
“We got in over five feet of water in the store. So we just opened up a couple of weeks ago,” said Mary Beth Baker. “It’s been challenging. It’s been hard. But, there are a lot of people who are struggling out here.”
Baker owns Gnome Sweet Gnome. It’s a small store in Town Center that specializes in items made by local artists.
“The people, the customers have been awesome. They’ve come here, literally with tears in their eyes, because a lot of them didn’t think we were going to open back up,” said Baker. “Small business right now, and honestly not even just for Kingwood but just in the community, it’s huge! I mean, we need the support of all the community.”
Support is needed now and in the coming months. Other shopping centers along Kingwood Drive still look like small ghost towns.
“We’ve worked so hard to come back. And we want to be an inspiration to the people that are out here,” said Baker. “They need hope. They need happiness and that’s what’s just been difficult. They want some joy right now.”