Having a business isn’t as sunshine and rainbows as it may seem. In the bijou town of Hammonton, downtown is filled with endearing small business. From clothing stores like Sa-Dee’s to juice bars like Ohana. All of them fluctuate in popularity, but it doesn’t diminish their quality. Each owner is filled with generosity and can accommodate your every need. I asked a series of questions to a handle full of Hammonton’s small business owners (they were all asked the same questions). The questions included topics such as, complications, joy, customers, items, the company names, and time.

To begin, I interviewed Marcy McAnney, the co owner of Ohana Juice Bar. Ohana, as known by many, means family. The McAnneys want everyone around them to been seen as family. This fruity business was started because they knew that God wanted them to be apart of the downtown small businesses. Ohana took about six months to get up and running. “Finding good employees with good people skills was probably the most complicated part,” said Marchele. As I was asking questions, she told me about how much she loves being able to be part of the small businesses downtown. I asked her about the daily range of customers, new or regulars, and she answered by telling me that there is usually a “good mixture of both”. The customers of Ohana love the different varieties of healthy foods/drinks, but the most popular items are the acai bowls. The McAnney love being about of of Ohana, and Ohana loves to be apart of downtown Hammonton.

Another business is close-knit town is Salon Avanti, owned by the wonderful and kindhearted Beverly. Beverly opened this business because she honestly didn’t know where to work when she came to Hammonton. She wanted to be in her own environment and do her own thing, so she opened Salon Avanti, which means future and forward. This beautiful business took a long while to get started, two years. When I asked what was the most complicated part of owning a job she started off by jokingly saying “Everything.” Then, she told me that keeping time and finance balanced is definitely the hardest. Bev also told me how much she loves being able to be with the people, “I love people!” “It’s like a stage.” As I interviewed Bev, she told me how color is the main thing done at the salon. Bev loves owning a business and planting smiles on people’s faces.

Sweet Creations’ owner, Jill, was the next interview that took place. Jill told me that she used to work at a bakery in a casino for 16 years, but then wanted to try doing doing it herself. So, she started the four month process and constructed Sweet Creations (which is named that because she sees her job as an artist in food and she creates sweet things). Jill has a mixture between regulars and new customers and her most popular item are decorated cakes. The delightful Sweet Creations owner said that hearing and seeing that the people are happy with their purchases brings her overwhelming joy. Sweet Creations definitely provides a sweet experience.

Casciano is one of the most popular businesses in downtown and is owned by Linda Cashan, who also owns the small business named Kitchen 19. “I started my business… truly backwards,” said Linda. She told me how she bought the building before she decided what she wanted to use it for. All she knew is that she wanted to fill a need for downtown. She told me that “our downtown didn’t have a cheers” and she wanted to be that place. The procedure of fabricating Casciano took about six months, excluding renovations. Casciano originated from her husband’s original last name, before it was changed to Cashan. The business has about 70 percent regular customers and 30 percent new customers, but Linda mentioned how it is very important to have “new customers to replenish”. Linda told a quick story about the Caramel Casciano, since its the ridiculously favored, and mentioned that her children didn’t think it was a good enough name for the drink. I guess she proved them wrong! Casciano is a great place to get work done, hang out with friends and family, or even just relax. I am so glad that she decided to add this astounding coffee shop into our downtown.

To conclude, Hammonton would not be the same without all of the small business and community. Throughout this article, you have learned that there are many up and downs in owning a business, but it is overall worth it. The owners love their customers and being able to be apart of the downtown society. Each and every owner started their businesses for different reasons, but they all helped the town grow by doing it. Hammonton is a pleasing and remarkable town and the business congregation owns partial credit.