I have wanted to talk about local shopping opportunities for awhile and it occurred to me this weekend (as I was shopping) that maybe the best way for me to do that is to talk about where I shop locally and what I buy there.
I will preface this by saying that I don't shop a lot. Not only is retail therapy not in my budget most weeks, but it isn't something I enjoy that much. I am sort of a "get in, get what you need, get out" kind of person. However, this weekend I had to pick up prescriptions. I get our's filled at our local, independent, downtown pharmacy. Grattan's Pharmacy and Gifts in downtown Philipsburg. I got groceries at Weis this weekend too. Now, I am aware Weis is not locally owned, but it IS in our Main Street District and the store employs a lot of local folks. Friday I ate lunch at The Gaslight Cafe. I also stopped in and got a few things at the Dollar General. Again, I know this is not a local company, but our Dollar General is downtown and generates (by our counts) about 35 people an hour. They too employ locals and if they are that much of a destination all of our businesses benefit. Better than visiting the Family Dollar in the plaza, in my mind at least. Last, but not least, I visited our locally owned distributor for a case of my favorite brew.
So, you can see that I didn't shop a ton, but I put money in the registers of businesses that are going to turn around and pay wages with my money this week or spend that money at other locally owned businesses. Next time you get in your car to go out of town to do these things, challenge yourself to find it locally. It matters!
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