ccarlson@dailypress.net
Caroline Carlson | Daily Press
Iron Mountain resident Randy Evosevich is shown at True Value Hardware in Escanaba. Evosevich says he likes to shop downtown when he visits Escanaba, especially for stocking stuffers.
ESCANABA The holiday season is upon us. With the COVID-19 pandemic still influencing our daily behaviors, many are wondering how local businesses are faring as Christmas approaches. The answers to this question are in some ways expected, and in some ways surprising.
Lisa LaLonde, president of the Escanaba Downtown Partners in Business and owner of Lisa Ann Style At Its Best, said she pushed to make sure Black Friday on Tuesday went forward this season. “I had to become president of the organization to get it to happen,” she laughs, adding the mom-and-pop businesses downtown are hurting, and she’s convinced it was something they needed. The hours of the sale, typically from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., were extended this year to spread shoppers out