By Brooke Stevenson

Despite the economy climate, most local businesses are reporting the same amount, or even more customers than they had this time last year.
Connie’s Kitchen owner Connie Emmons said business has been about the same as last year, and business has been good.
She said the restaurant hasn’t felt the effects of the economic downturn and that business has been steady.
“We aren’t slammed all the time, but the weekends are pretty crazy anyway,” Emmons said. “It has been a good steady pace and we are still climbing from what we were a year ago.
“It is a good sign.”
The Way Oma Motel has also had about the same amount of business as last year, said Ernest Ford.
“Our business usually stays about the same,” he said. “We don’t climb high or stay low.”
Roughly the same group of people visits the motel around the same time every year and on average the motel runs at about 80 percent capacity.
“The economic climate really hasn’t affected our business,” Ford said.
Sevier Pawn and Loan employee Daniel Jackson said that the store is always really busy with sales during the holiday season.
“Pawns are up because of the economy,” Jackson said. “We are seeing more pawns then we have in previous years.”
 Jackson added that they have recently been really busy with sales, but there are probably less this year than last year because of the economy.
Downtown Autobody of Seymour manager Monte Jones said that the body shop has been slow recently, but that it is not uncommon for this time of year.
He doesn’t believe the economy has anything to do with the slow in their business and said he thinks the economy has picked up from this time last year.
“I think business slows down mainly because of the holidays,” he said. “and if people’s vehicles are drivable their driving them because they are spending their money elsewhere for Christmas and all that.”
One factor that may be helping local businesses is that some Seymour residents rarely shop online, and if they do they tend not to during the holidays.
Cyber Monday is known as one of the busiest online retail shopping days of the year, in conjunction with the day after Thanksgiving, or what some call Black Friday. Yet, some Seymour residents have decided to opt out.
Donna Thompson said she knows what Cyber Monday is, but she didn’t buy anything online.
“I have a friend with a son that buys most of his toys online to avoid the crowds and chaos,” Thompson said. “She also buys coins for her husband online to try to get deals.”
Thompson added that she rarely shops online and likes to see what she is buying in person.
David Howard said he does shop online, but did not try to get any deals on Cyber Monday.
“I work at a hospital, I really don’t have time to shop,” he said. “I heard that there were about one million people every second shopping online on Monday.
“I don’t understand it.”
Betty Stenger said she really doesn’t do computers and does her Christmas shopping throughout the year.
“My daughter shops online,” Stenger said. “She starts as soon as the sales come out.”

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