A group of New York City small businesses will be showcased at this season’s Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park.
The village will open officially on Oct. 25 and will run through Jan. 5, 2025. During this run, the Bank of America Small Business Spotlight program will highlight four local businesses to give them an opportunity to reach new customers. As a part of this program, Bank of America covers shop rental fees and coordinates the basic build-out of the shop.
The four featured Small Business Spotlight businesses are:
- What a Cutie (Brooklyn): Oct. 25 – Nov. 12.
- Doosra (Queens): Nov. 13 – Dec. 1.
- eat2explore (Manhattan): Dec. 2 – Dec. 18.
- Paige’s Candle Co. (Brooklyn): Dec. 19 – Jan. 5.
Additionally, the winter village will include the Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women booth for the second year in a row, sponsored by Bank of America. Originally launched in 2023 as an online marketplace, the booth will allow customers to shop fromfive women-owned businesses from the U.S. and Mexico.
The five featured Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women booth vendors are:
- Beautiful Curly Me (Atlanta, GA): Oct. 25 – Nov. 10.
- MAIKA (Oakland, CA): Nov. 11 – Nov. 24.
- La Cana (Mexico City, MX): Nov. 25 – Dec. 8.
- Mercado Global (Brooklyn, NY): Dec. 9 – Dec. 22.
- TWEE (Philadelphia, PA): Dec. 23 – Jan. 5.
“Entrepreneurs and small businesses help drive New York City’s economy and are the backbone of our local communities,” said José Tavarez, president, Bank of America New York City. “Bank of America is committed to helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses and we look forward to welcoming this year’s Small Business Spotlight participants to the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park Holiday Shops. This rent-free Small Business Spotlight booth will help these businesses connect with new customers and sell their products in this vibrant setting without incurring additional overhead expenses. This year’s business owners join a network of more than 20 entrepreneurs who have participated in this program since it launched in 2020.”
“Being chosen for the Bank of America Small Business Spotlight gave me the chance to test drive opening a store, and find out what I needed to troubleshoot behind the scenes to make opening a store a reality,” said Beck Forney, Owner & Creative Director, Louise Goods. “Having this experience enabled me to make critical changes to my production workflow before they became expensive lessons and allowed me to build a new layer of confidence. The pivoting, problem-solving, reality checks, and great surprises along the way created momentum for the growth of the business. The lessons I learned weren’t something I could have gotten from a book or a class, and that was honestly priceless. The Small Business Spotlight was a life-changing experience, and I’m really glad we did it.”
The Small Business Spotlight booth can be found near the fountain, close to the 41st Street and 6th Avenue entrance to Bryant Park. The Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women booth will be located near the holiday tree behind the skating rink. The shops will be open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and opening day will begin at noon.
For more information about the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park, visit bryantpark.org.
