AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thais Perkins opened her store, Reverie Books, a little over a year ago to give people in the community, including younger folks, a comfortable place to gather and learn. 

“I had a little money for my grandmother, who loved books and birds and lived on a ranch in the hill country. So this is in part because of her,” Perkins said. 

The store is filled from floor to ceiling with vibrant spines of books. Paper dragonflies hang from the ceiling, and stuffed animals sit on chairs, seemingly inviting you to take a seat, open up a book and relax. 

“It has a very warm, warm feeling,” she said.

Perkins’ mission in opening the space was to create a safe place for young people to flourish. The shop is opposite a high school. Perkins offers internships to students and donates money to the school. 

But owning a bookstore in the current economic climate can be difficult; large eCommerce websites dominate shopping spaces, especially book sales. 

“(Opening Reverie) has been equal parts delightful and really, really challenging,” she said. “Austin is expensive. It is actually very hard to function as a small business.” 

Perkins was excited to hear that the City of Austin was encouraging Austinites to shop locally for the holidays this Saturday, in what has been called “Small Business Saturday.” They sent out a memo stressing the importance of supporting local, independent businesses for the community and the economy. 

 “Small Business Saturday continues to be an important holiday shopping event—part of a larger effort to support small businesses throughout the year,” said Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, director of Austin’s Economic Development Department. “We encourage Austinites to make a big impact by spending dollars locally.”

The city’s memo cited research from the Small Business Administration that said small businesses generated almost 13 million new jobs over the last 25 years, accounting for around two out of every three jobs added to the economy.

“(Small businesses) are important because they support the community locally. You live here, the money stays here, and it helps to support each other,” said Elsa Romos, an attorney with the Texas Workforce Commission. 

Despite how easy it is to purchase a book from an eCommerce website, Perkins said local bookstores have something special that online spaces will never be able to create. 

“You don’t get that connection to the community from a large corporate chain,” she said. “When you (open a bookstore), you go into it not expecting to do more than float. That’s the expectation. You do it because you love it and because you want to be part of the community,” she continued. 

“Heavy shopping season coming up. If you want to keep your community intact, shop local, and support your independent and small businesses. Were the ones who are going to be here for you long term.”