From left, Cliff Powers, Lander’s Men’s Store owner; Michael and Sarah Bigney, Crown Street Roasting Company owners; Sammy Lisciandro, The Pub manager; Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi; Salim Sarvaiya, Southside Pharmacy pharmacist/owner; John Lisciandro, Lisandro’s owner; and Sergey Khodzhayan, Fresco Pizza and Wings owner; during the presentation of a city proclamation commemorating Small Business Saturday, which will be celebrated in the city on Nov. 25. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

It’s a large contribution when area residents decide to shop locally owned small businesses.

On Friday, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi and city business owners gathered at Lander’s Men’s Store, located at 215 N. Main St., to promote the upcoming Small Business Saturday, which is held annually the Saturday following Thanksgiving.

Teresi presented several locally owned small business owners with a city proclamation commemorating Small Business Saturday, which will be celebrated in the city on Nov. 25. The local business owners that participated in the ceremony included Cliff and Ann Powers, Lander’s Men’s Store owners; John Lisciandro, Lisciandro’s owner, located at 207 N. Main St.; Sammy Lisciandro, The Pub manager, located at 209 N. Main St.; Salim Sarvaiya, Southside Pharmacy pharmacist/owner, located at 766 Foote Ave.; Sergey Khodzhayam, Fresco Pizza and Wings, located at 2 E. Second St.; and Michael and Sarah Bigney, Crown Street Roasting Company owners, located at 16 W. Third St.

Teresi joked that those who were invited to the ceremony are the businesses he will personally visit on Small Business Saturday.

“There is a special place in my heart for all small locally owned and operated businesses,” Teresi said. “We need to thank them and support them.”

Teresi said he will be sending a copy of the proclamation to the Small Business Saturday Coalition, which includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Small Business Administration, the National Federation of Independent Businesses; and American Express.

Small Business Saturday is an American shopping holiday held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.

The first observance of Small Business Saturday was on Nov. 27, 2010, as a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which feature big box retail and e-commerce stores respectively.

By contrast, Small Business Saturday encourages holiday shoppers to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local. The first event was created and sponsored by American Express.