The City of New Haven encouraged people to shop small and support local businesses ahead of Valentine’s Day at the “Love New Haven, Experience New Haven” event on Tuesday.
The event was held at Olives and Oil located at 124 Temple St.
Mayor Justin Elicker spoke about the hundreds of businesses in New Haven and the importance of supporting them, especially ahead of a major holiday.
“Embrace the love and take an opportunity to love your local businesses, too,” Elicker said.
Connecticut’s Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz was also in attendance at the conference.
“Remember, 66 cents of every dollar that you spent at a small business, stays right here in beautiful New Haven,” Bysiewicz said.
Chef and owner of Olives and Oil and Elm City Social, John Brennan, said he’s prepared a Valentine’s Day menu with a combination of his special entrees.
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“We prepared our Valentine’s Day menu about a month in advance so now we’re just rolling it out this last week and we’re going to be running it for the entire month of February,” Brennan said.
People can also enjoy a cooking class experience at Olives and Oil.
“We offer our cannoli-making classes, our pasta-making classes and pizza-making classes so if you want to give somebody a nice gift for Valentine’s Day, you can do that and book in advance,” Brennan said.
Over at More Amour Boutique located at 1130 Chapel St., owner and operator Kimberly Poole was also organizing her shop for Valentine’s Day.
“Valentine’s Day, we’re going to have amazing playlists, we’re going to have complimentary chocolates, our popcorn machine so we’re going to be giving away a lot of doorbusters and prizes, too,” Poole said.
Poole encourages shoppers to stop in and shop the beautiful pieces ranging from exclusive handbags, fine jewelry and unique pieces of clothing.
Pebbles Toys and Gifts is also offering a wide range of toys for families to enjoy.
“We carry the things that are made in Connecticut that we think are the best and we want to share with our community and our neighbors,” store manager Lauren Coleman said.
