ROCHESTER, Minn. - More and more small businesses are closing, after learning that some restrictions in Minnesota will extend through January.
People came together in Rochester for the Small Business Giveaway. It was a chance to win some free gift cards while also helping out small businesses. How it worked was people either bought or donated gift cards or coupons to several Rochester restaurants and stores to giveaway for free and they were presented live on Facebook.
The guy who came up with the event is Erik Karow. He's a restaurant owner himself, so he understands the struggle they're facing right now. He explained after the second shut down, more people are stepping up and asking how they can help out local businesses. "This is an important time to try to give back to the community," Karow said. "Trying to support local because let's be honest, there's a lot of people shutting down and they don't know if they're going to come back from this shut down. People are starting to realize this and if they don't do something now, then their favorite restaurant might not be coming back after we open up. Whenever that is."
