Black Eyed Susan Carving its Niche in Glyndon

As her store gets ready to on Saturday, owner Susan Seaman simply chuckles at the fact that she still gets customers—some of which live right down the street—who didn’t even know she was there in the first place.

But as Seaman has learned after , Black Eyed Susan Coffee, Cream and More, in Glyndon Square last winter, any traffic is good traffic.

Prior to last year, Seaman had operated Black Eyed Susan Gift Baskets LLC out of her home on the web since 2004.

So, twelve months after branching out into a commercial space, has the change been a good one for her business?

“Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely,” Seaman said. “We have been able to introduce our product to such a greater variety of customers who we wouldn’t have been able to reach through normal social media and advertising.

“You know what happens, when someone comes in and has a good experience, they tell ten people and they tell ten people and so on.”

While the Glyndon location is proving to be a success, Seaman still admits to facing some different challenges along the way. For one, some residents who viewed her “coming soon” sign two summers ago couldn't seem to figure out just when Black Eyed Susan was actually coming.

While the store is profiting from its commercial location, Seaman is eager for there to be more foot traffic in the area—particularly during the weekdays. That’s something, the business community needs to do a better job of remedying, especially now that the shopping center is fully leased, she said.

Seaman believes that the addition of festivals and other outdoor events would help promote the shopping center’s businesses and bring more consumers to the area. Anything to boost sales during a tough economy would be welcome.

“There’s no doubt that this economy has affected us,” she said. “We are not a grocery store or a gas station where people need our product.”

Although that may be true, Seaman swiftly found that her inventory of chocolate is virtually recession-proof. The chocolate craze caught on during the holidays last year and continued on through Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother’s Day and into the fall.

“People want a little bit of that comfort food and feeling of comfort and they get that through chocolate,” Seaman said. “That’s been a huge percentage of our business and we’ve been very excited to see that.”

For her customers with sweet teeth, the shop will soon boast a six-foot candy case that will house some sugar-free chocolate and sugar-free candies that customers have requested.

Aside from the treats, Black Eyed Susan is drawing customers in with weekly events that showcase local artisans, ranging from oil painters to jewelry makers.

The same can be said for this Saturday, when the shop will host political catroonist Kevin Kallaugher and local jazz musician Russell Kirk as a part of its one year anniversary celebration.

“It definitely drives traffic,” Seaman said. “I think customers are responding well to [the events] because it’s not something you’re going to see in your mall, or your big box strip center. There’s a story to tell.”