Millvale focuses on small business as the heartbeat of the community

Millvale’s Small Business Saturday Shopopoly turned the borough’s downtown into kind of a scavenger hunt, fueling shoppers with the adrenaline rush that often accompanies stumbling upon the perfect find.

Small Business Saturday is a nationwide event held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In Millvale, it typically attracts hundreds of shoppers, and this year more than 30 retail stores participated, spanning North Avenue, Grant Avenue, Sherman Street, Sedgwick Street and East Ohio Street.

The stores varied from businesses that have been in the community for 75 years to establishments that had opened just two months ago. Shopping small, many customers said, was important because such businesses are the heart of the community, often providing the quality and connection that big businesses