Laurel's Hometown Cafe Features A Girl's Gotta Spa! For Monthly Small Business Spotlight

Local Businesses Collaborate to Help Each Other in a Struggling Economy

Honesdale, PA: Until September 15th, the owner and employees of Laurel’s Hometown Cafe, located at 526 Main St in Honesdale, will be wearing t-shirts to promote another local small business, A Girl’s Gotta Spa! ® Laurel Gardner, owner of Laurel’s Hometown Cafe, came up with the idea to feature other local businesses monthly when she saw how other small businesses were struggling to stay afloat in the current economy.

The way it works is through contacting Gardner to get assigned a month to be featured. Businesses then provide her team with their branded t-shirts and they are worn each day the cafe is open throughout that month.

“I came up with the idea because as a small business owner in Wayne County, I see other businesses struggling to get ahead. I thought we could work together in a mutually beneficial way,” said Gardner, whose cafe has been a Main Street staple for the past 17 years. It’s a win-win for everyone. I get free shirts for my staff to wear and the businesses get free advertisement. We love the sense of community it has created locally.”

Shannon Smyth, Founder of A Girl’s Gotta Spa!, a handcrafted vegan and cruelty free bath and body brand also based in Wayne County, heard about the opportunity from a friend, got in touch with Gardner and then decided to keep the small business love going by having her t-shirts made through another Wayne County business, Platform Industries.

“This year has been incredibly difficult and I absolutely loved this creative idea. Without a physical storefront of my own it can be very difficult, and expensive, to generate awareness of the products I offer. I’m grateful for this opportunity and to feel a part of my local community,” said Smyth.

Through this collaboration the two businesses also learned that they had something in common - a love for helping Victims’ Intervention Program (VIP), which serves survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in both Wayne and Pike counties. Both give back to the program that helped them through a difficult season in their lives.

About A Girl’s Gotta Spa!: A vegan, Leaping Bunny certified cruelty free and rePurpose Global certified plastic neutral brand that believes in empowering women. Their handcrafted products are sold online www.agirlsgottaspa.com and in-person at craft fairs around Northeast PA. 10% of the gross sales of every perfume sold is donated to Victims’ Intervention Program.

About Laurel’s Hometown Cafe: Offering breakfast and lunch made from scratch for the past 24 years, they can be found at 526 Main Street in Honesdale, PA. Crowd favorites include homemade pierogies, pies and homemade corned beef hash. They are open 5 days a week from 6am-3:30pm, and closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays.