Skip the Post Road gridlock and mall madness and shop downtown New Haven this holiday weekend. That’s the message of the Shops at Yale, which has planned a suite of activities to draw shoppers downtown on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday this year.
Yale is offering visitors four free hours of parking with a $30 purchase from Shops at Yale retailers starting Black Friday through Dec. 24 at lots at 255 Crown Street, 161 York Street and 56 Broadway. Show a receipt upon exiting to get the discount.
Black Friday events downtown include roaming greeters with special discounts, plus surprise giveaways for customers with Shops at Yale shopping bags. Ice-carving demonstrations are planned in the afternoon on Chapel Street in front of L’Occitane En Provence and Wave Gallery.
Small Business Saturday shoppers can get free popcorn and cider at the INFONewHaven storefront at 1000 Chapel St., along with giveaways and raffle opportunities. Watch ice-carvers at work on Chapel Street again along with yuletide carolers who will ply both Chapel and Broadway.
All downtown retailers are offering gifts and special offers, plus greeters will again offer gift cards and other freebies to those with Shops at Yale bags.
Every parking meter downtown is offering a free hour of parking on Small Business Saturday if you use the Go New Haven app, available here.
“Local shopping is critical to economic development in downtown New Haven and the city, because the success of local businesses attracts and encourages other entrepreneurs and companies to open businesses, which leads to more jobs and more tax revenue,” said David DelVecchio, Yale’s director of real estate asset management. “Local businesses are the backbone of our economy. It’s important to support them.”
For more on Shops at Yale events during the holiday season, click here.
