BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is the second annual Small Business Saturday event, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

On Saturday, November 26, the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce is joining American Express and others across the nation to ask residents to shop at their favorite local small business to help fuel the economy.

Small businesses are critical to the nation’s overall economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there were nearly 28 million small businesses in the United States last year. Over the past two decades, they created 65 percent of net new jobs. Their importance to local communities extends even further. For every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures, according to the small business advocacy group The 3/50 Project. 

LELAND, NC (WECT) – Encore Restaurant Week kicks off today in Wilmington, Leland, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach and Swansboro.

Area restaurants offer deals on their most popular dishes for a week in order to give the local economy a boost and let the foodies around town experience new dishes.

You can get anything from a two-course lunch for $12 to a five-course dinner for $25 between Oct. 19 and 26.

In Leland, just one restaurant has decided to participate in the event. Eddie Romanelli’s is offering a $6 per person lunch special and a three-course dinner special for $20 per couple.

LELAND, NC (WECT) – The Leland Police Department has released their crime reports from this weekend. There were two incidents at the Leland Walmart on Sunday.

Around 1:30 p.m., Walmart employees reported that Richard Sealey of Leland was in the process of stealing merchandise from the store. He was arrested and charged with larcey.

Just a few hours later, Leland Police were at Walmart again, this time for a fight. Employees called police to report two male subjects fighting in the store. When Leland PD showed up, they detected the smell of alcohol from the subject. Ronald Simmons of Delco was arrested and charged with DWI and assault.

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