What sounds better to you? An hours-long wait in the cold followed by a mad dash just to grab a marked-down pajama set? Or a pleasant stroll along Main Street with stops at laid-back cafés, shops, and other storefronts, where you’re greeted warmly by the staff?

Black Friday is all about grabbing the best deals on the hottest items. Obviously, we are big fans of deals, but we’re also invested in helping our customers engage with their communities. Thankfully, Small Business Saturday also exists to encourage people to patronize their favorite local businesses, purchase locally made goods, and discover new treasures.

Our subscribers get to celebrate with an extra 20% off local deals on Saturday, November 28. To get in the spirit, we talked to a few Chicago small-business owners about what drives them to do what they do and what they think of their role in the marketplace and the larger community. Below, find out what they had to say.

B’Gabs Goodies

Gabrielle Darvassy and her husband, Ron Brigel, fell in love at a juice bar. (He was the hippie-type guy behind the counter, she was drinking the smoothies.) How perfect is it that they went on to open B’Gabs Goodies, a juice bar and raw vegan eatery?

Learn how Gabrielle views her small business’s role in the community and their lives … 

“Whenever you work with a mom-and-pop, which is what we are, it’s a totally different level of service, care, and compassion because we’re working it. We’re here every single day making sure that it represents us.”

 

“This is how we’re going to send our kids to college; this is how we’re going to pay our mortgage. It’s extraordinarily personal. Every single thing is you. Everything.”

 

Read more about Gabrielle and B’Gabs Goodies, which our food editors named one of Chicago’s most Chicago restaurants.

Lawrence’s Fisheries

From left: Dan Griffin, John Griffin, and Kurt Schweig

When Lawrence Schweig founded Lawrence’s Fisheries in 1950, he was devoted to smoking perch and chubs pulled from Lake Michigan. Over time, though, the business concentrated more on providing cooked-to-order seafood directly to customers—and became a Chicago food icon in the process. John Griffin is part of the family’s third generation to run the 24-hour shop.

Read how John believes a longtime institution can stay current ...

“We are always asked when we are going to open another place farther out in the suburbs. They tell us they can’t find anything comparable to our tasty product or sauces wherever they live now. Telling us we are a must-have whenever they come to the city is always encouraging.”

 

“We believe that, if you keep your mind open, there might be a better way of doing things.”

 

“Many of the employees have been with us for many years, so we know each other quite well. Because we have so many familiar customers, they also enjoy greeting employees they know by name when they come in the store.”

 

When he’s commuting to work, he thinks about “how to improve the customer experience and ways to reach new markets. The city is a big place and, although we are known by many, there are always new customers to find.”

Arc Academy

Vulcan: god of fire and forge; son of Jupiter. Steve Christena: founder of Arc Academy metalworking school; son of a GM worker and an educator. With all the sparks flying around the studio, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two.

Read what motivated Steve to bring metalworking to the community …

“All I did when I was working in a cubicle was dream about working with my hands.”

“There are a lot of people out there who need the outlet to work with their hands, but unfortunately these people live in (what I like to call) ‘The Box World.’ They get up in the morning, they’re in a box; they go to work, they’re in a box. And of course they work in a cubicle—which is another box.”

“The dream is to give all of these people the knowledge and the access to be creative and work with their hands to escape the box. For a little while at least.”

Ricci Kapricci Salon

Silvio Mato came to Chicago from Italy at age 19. Having grown up with a hairdresser mother and knowing he wanted to create art, he began to train as a stylist. Now, at his Ricci Kapricci Salon, he encounters new creative challenges every day—but never tires of it.

Read why Silvio is so at home in his art and his salon …

“Being in the hair business, it’s actually an art. ... All I do is make people look good, put a smile on their face, and make them happy.”

“Here everybody is very easygoing. It’s a fun place to be, a family. What I love about what I’ve created is when a customer comes in, he ends up bringing all his family in here. It’s very comfortable, comfy for everybody.”

 “You get to do something different all the time, and I guess that’s the fun part of it. I don’t get bored of it—it’s always something new.”

“I believe that anything you do, there are levels of it. You can be a good hairdresser; you can be very good. There are haircuts out there for $5, and there are haircuts that are $1,000 or $5,000. So whatever you do, you try to do the best at it.”

Photos by Grant Walsh, Groupon. Video shot by Jeff Bivens and Ben Nissen, edited by John Scott, produced by Emily Donelan, Groupon.