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“This was my first holiday season and sales met — and exceeded — my expectations,” said Vasilika Poniros, owner of L.O.L Kids, a children’s clothing boutique.
Poniros said she was most surprised by the numbers of customers from outside North Castle who stopped in town specifically to shop.
“It seemed to me that all of Westchester has taken notice of North Castle,” she said. “I had several customers from out of town. I think our downtown is becoming a little bit of a destination, which is really neat.”
While Poniros enjoyed her first holiday season as a storeowner, Hickory Tweed ski shop owner Skip Beitzel was enjoying his 25th.
“We had a great holiday season because it snowed,” he said. “Business has been excellent with our region getting snow over Thanksgiving and this most recent snowfall. It’s been cold and it’s stayed cold, which is good for us.”
Even merchants whose primary season isn’t winter were upbeat on holiday sales and the outlook going forward.
“December is actually a slow period for us because traditional house decorating takes a breather over the holidays,” said Christina Doherty, owner of CiCi Crib, which specializes in new and vintage gifts and décor. “But even our decorative sales for this time of the year were solid, and our gift sales were very good.”
Doherty was optimistic for her store and others. “North Castle’s downtown is definitely going in the right direction,” she said.
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