{"id":34742,"date":"2022-01-17T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=34742"},"modified":"2022-01-11T11:34:52","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T16:34:52","slug":"small-businesses-are-the-heartbeat-of-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/small-businesses-are-the-heartbeat-of-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Businesses are the Heartbeat of the Community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To be unique is to be remembered and that\u2019s especially true for small businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defiance County is home to several small businesses, which offer many special experiences and wares to customers. They also help create memories and support the community.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At Just Be Original\u2013JBO Fine Arts Academy in the Northtowne Mall, visitors can take part in parties, classes or purchase a distinctive piece of artwork. Owner Jennifer Boyd was an art and music teacher before making the switch to business owner. \u201cI decided that Defiance could use a place to create and paint and have fun,\u201d she said of JBO, which opened in 2013 in downtown and has since relocated to the mall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun is also a big part of the Fun Company in downtown Defiance. \u201cIt is fun to be here,\u201d said owner Mandy Osterfeld. The Defiance store, which opened in 2021, is the third location of the business. The first was in Bellefontaine, where Osterfeld and her husband took over the teacher store about three years ago turning it into the Fun Company. \u201cToys are more fun to shop (for) in person,\u201d she said, stating it\u2019s fun to be in a toy store. \u201cYou can see, touch and play in person. The toy store of our childhood is coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While JBO and the Fun Company are relatively new in Defiance, there also are landmark small businesses that are synonymous with the town. Bud\u2019s Restaurant is one example. Bud\u2019s began as Bud\u2019s Hamburger Shop in 1939 by Bud Deatrick. It has had many owners over the years with members of the Mayer family owning it since 1952. Matt and Sue Mayer took ownership of the long-standing business from Matt\u2019s parents in April 2011. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor and a privilege to own a business that has been here as long as we have and support Defiance and the community,\u201d Matt Mayer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each business owner said there are many great things about being a small business in Defiance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boyd said she loves to see people creating all the time \u201ceven those that are really nervous about it.\u201d \u201cEventually they realize they can do this and make really amazing pieces,\u201d she said, adding that it really helps to build people\u2019s self confidence. Boyd said she also loves \u201cseeing kids happy and proud of what they have made\u201d and \u201cseeing people smiling over something we have done \u2013 knowing we are making a difference.\u201d Boyd added that towns like Defiance need unique businesses where everyone is welcome. \u201cWe need places where all ages can gather,\u201d she said. \u201cCreate something unique. Put the phone and electronic down for a while and enjoy each others company (and do something education as well). Art is definitely therapy and is great for mental health. We need more of that in today\u2019s crazy world.\u201d JBO also does FUNdraisers for various community organizations and programs such as Relay for Life, the humane society, Imagination Library and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While new, Osterfeld said the customers in Defiance have been \u201cawesome\u201d and really have enjoyed playing and getting with the various games, toys, puzzles and crafts the Fun Company offers. She said being in Defiance has been a \u201cblessing.\u201d Osterfeld said she hopes the business’ toys really help kids learn and as well as support their development. They also can create fun for all ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause we have a background as a teachers\u2019 store, we understand kids learn better when having fun,\u201d Osterfeld said, adding the store carries toys not found at big box stores. \u201cA lot of adults come in here and say \u2018it\u2019s fun.\u2019 You can touch and play with everything. Who doesn\u2019t like that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hometown favorites are also something everyone loves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayer said it\u2019s very important to have a place like Bud\u2019s in the community. Bud\u2019s has helped with various community projects and events throughout the years including Christmas for Kids. \u201cEvery town should have a little place that has been there that supports the community and the community supports them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a staple that everybody knows is going to be there. When there kids leave and come back to town, they know it will still be there. (For Defiance) it\u2019s basically Bud\u2019s and Kissner\u2019s. When people come back to town, they come to Kissner\u2019s for a favorite sandwich and when they come to Bud\u2019s they want their big pies (Bud\u2019s had orders for 285 pies for Thanksgiving alone). It keeps people coming back and keeps people together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a small business does have some challenges. Staffing is something all three businesses said they find as a challenge now. Mayer added that keeping up with new trends and technology also is something that can be difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relocating a few times has been a challenge as is staying \u201cfresh,\u201d Boyd said of her business as well. \u201cWe want to make sure we are offering everything we can to the community they want to see,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about being of service to the community and are we doing them justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Each business though is poised and have plans for the long-term in the community.  \u201cWe hope to serve the community for years and years to come,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cWe hope these bast eight years have secured us a spot in the heart of our community enough to keep us here. We have lots of plans with this new space (in the mall) \u2013 lot of new ideas and new things to offer and do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osterfeld said the Fun Company is planning to shut down in February and move to another location downtown two blocks from the current site. \u201cWe will have a grand opening in February,\u201d she said. \u201cWe will have expanded offerings like birthday parties and workshops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayer said Bud\u2019s plans to continue to support the Defiance community for many years to come as well. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To be unique is to be remembered and that\u2019s especially true for small businesses.  Defiance County is home to several<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2230,6],"tags":[13471,9509,13472,13473],"class_list":["post-34742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-community","category-community","tag-buds-restaurant","tag-defiance-ohio","tag-just-be-original-jbo-fine-arts-academy","tag-the-fun-company"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Buds-Restaurant-Defiance.jpeg?fit=666%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-92m","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 21:10:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}