TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — Tarpon Springs has been through a lot and with Epiphany right around the corner, the desire to have folks eat and shop local is present everywhere.

What You Need To Know

  • A recent report said in-store retail in 2024 is seeing more purchases nationwide, compared to 2023

  • According to that report, total retail rose nearly 4 percent between Nov. 1 and Christmas Eve with a nearly 3 percent increase of people choosing to buy things at physical locations

  • Locally, many shops are seeing customers return following the rebuilding process after Hurricane's Helene and Milton

And inside many of these shops, at least four of them, you’ll find Nancy Williams’ curations.

“I'm trying to get stuff that's less Tarpon Spring-ish, because we have locals that want to shop here and get things that don't necessarily say Tarpon Springs or don't necessarily say Florida,” Williams, who is a purchasing manager of four stores in Tarpon Springs, said.

According to Williams, this time of year is usually the starting point for their busiest season.

“Usually after Christmas, we start to pick up and go straight through Easter,” she said. “Easter usually ends our season.”

After needing to recover from Helene, it was crucial to get back up and running in spots like Cute as a Button Boutique.

No matter which store, the holiday season, Williams says, has been pretty good for them.

“With Christmas and kids out of school and families in town, people are finally coming,” she said. “So, the streets have been packed, the sidewalks are packed. Yesterday I noticed when I went to walk to our store down the corner, I couldn't even get down the sidewalk.”

They’ve seen the increased foot traffic inside too.

It makes sense when you here in-store retail is seeing more purchases nationwide, according to a recent report.

Total retail, it says, rose nearly four percent between November 1st and Christmas Eve with a nearly three percent increase of people choosing to buy things at physical locations.

“That made me very happy,” said Williams. “I actually posted on our Instagram some crowds because I was very happy to see them and hopefully get the word out that crowds are back.”

It’s not a complete return to normalcy, though, after all, some business spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild.

But seeing snowbirds and locals checking out sponges and shirts gives folks, like Williams, the hope that this upward trend will continue.

“Now that they know that we're open, they come in and they're shocked at how fast we get open, how good the stores look,” Williams said. “They're shocked at what we went through. So they're definitely supportive.”

Once people realized Tarpon Springs, for the most part, is back and open, Williams says business immediately following Christmas has been great.

Showing no matter what happens, with enough determination, businesses like these will do whatever it takes to push forward.