(11/27/06) HILLSBOROUGH ? The huge chains may have grabbed all the headlines, but smaller mom-and-pop stores say they too stand to benefit from a spike in post-holiday shopping.

Several merchants in Hillsborough say their cash registers were ringing with the best of them on Black Friday and beyond. While many storeowners say sales didn?t set records, they believe the solid shopping season start will continue all the way through the end of the holidays.

The owners of many small stores say people often ignore larger retailers because of the items and service offered at mom and pop shops.