Shop Local on Small Business Saturday

Just what is Small Business Saturday and why should you support it in Swampscott?

Big name national retailers take the spotlight on Black Friday as their deep price cuts pull in shoppers in droves. What about those mom-and-pop businesses all over Swampscott and beyond that are the backbone of America’s economy? Just when do they get their day? That’s basically the question that was asked back in 2010 when the concept of Small Business Saturday was born. Small Business Saturday is “a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities,” the U.S. Small Business Administration explains on its website. American Express gets the credit for founding the shopping holiday, which got its official start on Nov. 27, 2010, according to the Small Business Saturday Facebook page. Celebrating its third …

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Blue 7

Former Blue Linebacker Runs Blue Ox Restaurant

This story on Matt O'Neil of the Blue Ox is the fourth installment in our Blue 7 series that leads up to the Thanksgiving game against Marblehead.

Matt O’Neil, 34, played middle linebacker for the Big Blue back in the day. These days he stands in the middle of the Blue Ox restaurant in Lynn as its chef/owner. Like most middle linebackers he is in the middle of the action — and aggressive. “I like to compete,” he says. It’s afternoon, an hour or so before opening at the 191 Oxford St. restaurant. There’s lots of dark brown wood that gleams and a view straight into the kitchen. Out the front windows stand red-brick mill buildings. Above, pressed-tin ceilings from more than a 100 years ago let people know they aren’t the first human beings to enter the place. O’Neill is on the hoof. He heads from the kitchen and wedges through the bar. He’s into the open dining room. Slides to the side …

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Swampscott Business

Bookstore Redux: Spirit of 76² Opens

Where Borders Express once sold books a small independent store has opened.

The co-owner of the new Spirit of 76² bookstore heard a familiar refrain from customers Tuesday morning. It was a resounding variation on the following: We're so glad to have a bookstore in Swampscott again. The last one shuttered in August, Borders Express, in the same Paradise Road/Swampscott Mall space that Spirit now occupies. Spirit co-owner John Hugo threw open his doors at 10 am Tuesday. Five or six customers entered — ready to wander, wonder and get their hands on a book. He was so busy he didn't notice the title of the first book sold. Later, in early afternoon, he reviewed his register's sales. The first book was A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France. This is one of four…

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