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Why Buying Locally Matters
Help Your Community This Holiday Season
his holiday season, think outside the big box. If you
choose to shop, make your gifts more meaningful by
finding items that are truly representative of the com
munity you're a part of, not something that can be
found on any shelf, in any town. Athens is unusual in that
it's home to a number of locally owned restaurants, bars and
specialty shops. Yet, many of these independently owned
establishments face the threat of being run out of business
by corporate chains and the escalation of hyper-competitive
online shopping. Keeping your favorite mom-and-pop shops
around requires a conscious effort and faithful commitment to
choosing to buy locally.
There are a multitude of reasons why shopping locally is
the most economically beneficial choice for a community.
Independent retail shops often carry handmade items crafted
by local or regional artisans, just as many independent res
taurants focused on sustainability incorporate locally grown
and seasonal produce into their menus' recipes. Because these
business owners recognize the importance of purchasing goods
and services from other independently operated businesses,
they are much more efficient at circulating money back into
trie local economy than chain stores which seldom, if ever,
utilize locally sourced items. Building inventory through local
purchasing also reduces our environmental impact, since less
transportation is involved.
Small, independently owned businesses are adaptable when
it comes to utilizing available rental space in their towns, and
require comparatively lower infrastructure costs than nation
ally owned stores which typically demand uniform facilities.
Whereas chains' profits go back to corporate headquarters out
of town, almost everything spent at locally owned businesses
is guaranteed to stay within the community.
Because business owners are more focused on their own
interests than on national trends, a community of locally
owned businesses is able to offer a very wide array of products
and niche outlets. Preserving this diversity in an increas
ingly homogenized world is essential in promoting community
growth and prosperity, as it brings in tourists seeking des
tinations with distinctive character and entrepreneurs look
ing to settle in an area friendly towards new start-ups and
innovation.
Truly recognizing and caring about the needs of their com
munity, locally owned businesses donate to local nonprofit
organizations much more frequently than iheir big-box adver
saries. They're also more flexible when it comes to strength
ening the community through hosting workshops, panel
discussions, lectures and other events, which are rarely held at
chains.
One of the qreatest aspects of shopping locally is that you
often get an opportunity to establish connections with the
owners themselves. With that in mind, here are even more rea
sons to shop and dine locally this holiday season, given by a
few familiar faces from around town:
leak Goodwin co owner of Helix: “Athens has a unique
small town atmosphere... People don't come to Athens to go to
Walmart or Starbucks. They come for funky shops, musk venues
and restaurants... If we don't support local businesses, they
will close, and the character will be gone, and Athens will be
a sprawl of oversized stores and strip malls like a lot of other
towns... So, you can buy everything from Amazon and maybe
even get it a little cheaper, but you aren't investing in your
friends' businesses, and you miss the opportunity to meet the
local business owners and employees and feel invested in your
community."
Corie Rein, co-owner of Ike & Jane: “For me, the value of
shopping and eating locally is that you get to know your
neighbors and you get to know your community. It's wonderful
to feel connected to everyone around you. That's my favorite
thing about eating at restaurants that I know are owned and
operated locally: that I know some people around me, whether
it be from previous visits or from wandering around town."
Kristen Bach, owner of Treehouse Kid & Craft: “More inter
esting local shops give Athens character and define what it is:
a town of cultural production and community. If we were all
chain stores, we wouldn't have that. People are attracted to
Athens for its charm, its interesting shops and its restaurants
that you can't find anywhere else... I have the opportunity
to curate a shop for the people who visit: to bring them what
they want and inspire them with what they've never seen. We
buy a lot locally and from smaller companies, so we often know
the names of the artisans we're buying from."
Air«« Hong Edwards owner of Agora: "Local business own
ers help lead this community. If we bring a 100,000 square-
foot Walmart to downtown Athens, our local businesses will
close and leave our town with a gaping hole where downtown
used to be."
Cooper Currin. co-owner of Mama's Boy: "Local restaurants
and local businesses in general have a relatively large impact
on our local economy as local businesses don't have head
quarters elsewhere and tend to spend more money locally. Our
employees spend locally, our plumber is local, and many of
our purveyors and services are also local businesses... I am
not making any judgments on the quality of the food in chain
restaurants, but because they tend to run a lower labor cost,
many of their dishes are pre-prepared before they arrive at the
local location for ease of service. Local restaurants start from
scratch and have a lot more creativity with the fresher, often
locally grown, foods."
Chuck Ramsey chef/partnf-r at Five & Ten: “At Five & Ten,
we try to support our local ecDromy by buying as much local
produce, meats, etc., as possible. Dining with us, and other
establishments like ours, helps to keep money in our local
economy instead of funneling it elsewhere."
Tricia Ruppersburg. owner of Aurum Studios: “It provides
income to the stores that offer jobs to local residents, use
other locally based businesses, advertise locally and put
income into the local government for the use of all the resi
dents... When you shop at an independent local store you are
being helped by a person: a person who quite possibly knows
you or your friends and cares about helping you. You are able
to handle the products and compare items in person, seeing
special items and unusual pieces that are not available in such
mass quantities to make buying them online likely... And not
least of all, you are supporting the establishments that support
you and your community by donating goods and services, vol
unteering, serving on boards and participating in the myriad of
activities that constitute a community."
Danna Lea owner of Athena Jewelers: "For over 20 years
my local business has been supporting not only my family, but
other families as well... Most small stores, if not all, are owned
by families taking care of families... These families put their
heirt and soul into everything they do for their business and
tf»»ir customers."
Sanni Baumgaertner owner of Community: "Shopping
locally this holiday season is important because you don't just
get great gifts for your loved ones, but you also support your
neighbors at the same time. For example, when you buy a local
artisan product at Community, you give a gift to our artisans
and help them be able to keep making beautiful things."
Janet Geddis owner of Avid Bookshop: “Deciding to shop
locally is one of the most powerful things consumers can do.
By spending dollars at Athens businesses, a significant portion
of your Athens-earned money stays here in town. Local busi
nesses collect sales taxes (unlike certain online sellers that
shall go unnamed), which positively affect our local schools,
roadways and more... Small, locally owned businesses are often
lauded as the backbone of the American economy. Help make
that backbone even stronger by supporting your neighbors and
choosing to spend more of your shopping money locally."
Jessica Smith
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