LANCASTER, N.Y. — Black Friday deals may have come and gone, but retail shops in Lancaster are looking forward to a vibrant holiday shopping season.
Ever since the village and county invested in several downtown revitalization initiatives, businesses have noticed more storefront customers.
Juls and Jane in Lancaster said there was a consistent flow of shoppers all weekend, even up to the end of business on Sunday.
"It's been really busy. A lot of people have come in especially for Small Business Saturday," said Gia Fulciniti, an employee at Juls and Jane. "Since the village has expanded more, it's brought way more people from Lancaster and multiple other towns into the village, and it's brought up business a lot."
The expanded walkability of the Lancaster business district has allowed stores like Juls and Jane to see increased foot traffic.
"People coming in all the time saying I didn't even know half of the stuff was here," Fulciniti said. "It's changed so much over the past couple of years."
Restaurants and breweries are seeing the impacts of the improvements as well.
"It's been just almost like starting over again," said Joe Marshall, co-owner of Lilly Belle Meads. "With the influx of new people it's just been continuous."
Lilly Belle Meade has been a destination for shoppers at the beginning, middle, or end of their gift hunt.
"We absolutely see people that come out and they want to grab, something to drink, they want to grab something to eat." Marshall said. "There's people all over the streets here, just all over the central business district, it's great to see obviously."