Local business leaders kicked off the holiday shopping season Monday with something more than the usual appeals made on behalf of small businesses for whom sales over the next month will be critical.
Heads of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber and the Kern Women’s Business Center said the support of local consumers will be crucial this year because small shops and restaurants recovering from the pandemic now face inflation and the risk of recession.
“We are at a very unique time,” chamber Chairman Rick Jhaj told reporters at a morning event at the Town & Country Village shopping center. He said where people shop takes on extra significance because shoppers will try to cut back amid higher prices.
“But we do know spending will not stop,” Jhaj added. “It will continue even through we might be feeling the…
