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By Carol Arnett

While the economy still affects local businesses, there were hopeful signs in 2010, expressed by some key local business owners.

Ryan Reeder, co-owner of Golf Club Liquidators, has been pleased by consumer reaction to his new storefront business in Old Town Florissant.  The company started as strictly an on-line business for golfers to purchase discounted golf equipment.

“We needed a store location because of the large volume of business we were doing on line.”  The Old Town location  on rue St. Francois  has worked well for him and his family. The storefront allows Golf Club Liquidators to have much more inventory including many of the top names in golf equipment like Callawyt, PING, Cobra, Titleist, TaylorMade, Wilson and Nike. They still do on-line sales, but now have a popular store location and held a successful  Black Friday weekend sale.

“It’s better than last year,” Patty Sosa, owner of Dooley’s Florist in Old Town, said. “Weddings have come back a bit after having been down the last four or five years.” Sosa said that weddings were down industry-wide, not just in this area.  However, she said, she’s been seeing more young brides with traditional weddings.

Sosa said she’s worked this year on upgrading her website. “I tried to give it more attention,” she said, “with new pictures and an updated look.”

Sosa said that several items were popular this Christmas season. “We have Christmas arrangements in really pretty bowls that you can re-use. It’s a nice alternative to the traditional containers,” she said.

Dooley’s also has Christmas arrangements in a red vase with a bracelet, necklace, or ornament on the vase. “You can give flowers and a gift that way,” Sosa said. She said she was also very happy with some silk wreaths the shop has.

Another long-time Old Town business, Don Henefer Jewelers has experienced a better last quarter than it did last year, said jeweler  Jerry Ahlert. “Customers are still watching their spending like they did last year, but our holiday sales have been a little better than last year,” Ahlert said.

At Goeke’s Produce, things are looking up after a rough few months. The produce store moved in November 2009.

“Up until the bridge closing, we were doing great,” said owner Karen Wibracht. “That pretty much knocked the wind out of us.”

Wibracht said the busy season for the store is usually from June through the end of October. St. Ferdinand Street was closed for the bridge repair from June until mid-October.

Despite the road work, Wibracht said she loves the new location. “Our flower season was the best yet,” she said. “We doubled our capacity with this location.”

The larger location has also allowed the store to carry more items. They have over 240 different spices and seasonings.  The also carry dip mixes, salsas, jams and jellies, as well as smoked meats.

Wibracht said they can customize gift baskets. They can make an all fruit basket, or they can use any other products in the shop to make a unique basket for anyone on your list.

Handyman True Value has a long track record in Florissant. Owner Dave Otto said that 2010 was about the same as 2009. He said that recently, he’s seeing more customers spending money on items for their homes.

“They’re starting to spend more on do-it-yourself projects and things for around the house, from lawn and garden items, to plants to patio furniture,” he said. “We’re seeing people improving their homes.”

Otto said that the store is doing well with a combination of aggressive pricing, hard work, and a great selection.

“Last year was the first year we had black Friday specials,” he said. This year, the store once again had black Friday items. “The hot items this year were pet pillows and pet airbeds,” Otto said. “People loved them.”

This year, for the first time, the store will have overall markdowns on Christmas items starting on Dec. 18.

Otto said he still has great deals on tools, accessories, flashlights, and other good gift items. Even after working in the hardware business for years, Otto said he still gets excited by new merchandise. “We have a lot of things that I would like as a gift.”

Barb Hicks said that her store, Keeven Appliances, was doing about the same as last year. She said the economy has affected her business.

“We’re selling a lot of parts,” she said. “More people are fixing instead of replacing.”

“We used to sell a few appliances every year for Christmas,” Hicks said, “but not this year.” However, Hicks said that now was a good time to buy appliances. “Year-end is always a good time to buy,” she said.

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