Shop Local

The other night a friend of mine referenced Sally Brewster, the awesome owner of Park Road Books, about how shopping at local businesses impacts the community. I emailed Sally to get her actual statistics, and here they are:

For every $25 that you spend in Charlotte, here's how much stays in our community:

• Park Road Books or any other locally-owned store: $13.75
• Borders, Costco, or any other chain store: $3.90
• Amazon: "a big, fat zero"

I think this says it all. Make it a point to frequent your locally-owned businesses, whether for books (Park Road Books at Park Road Shopping Center), school uniforms (Educational Outfitters, right near--yes--Costco), produce (here's the Charlotte Observer link for local farmer's markets --many have their own websites, too--and here is the list of pick-your-own farms), wine (Pasta and Provisions--which of course has much more than wine!), toys (Black Forest in Myers Park and Bedford Falls at Park Road Shopping Center) and more.

I think one of the best things about shopping locally is that you get to know the owners and employees, and they get to know you. I can walk into Park Road Books and Sally will say, "Have you read the new Stephanie Kallos?" because she knows I like that kind of book. Or, I can say, "I need a chapter book for a beginning reader who likes animals" and Sherry (the children's books specialist) will point me towards a character I had never heard of before. I LOVE shopping for wine at Pasta and Provisions because I know nothing about it, but I can walk in and say, "I have 20 women coming for dinner--what kind of wine should I serve?" and they can hook me up.

I also want to give a shout-out to a group of self-employed or locally-employed businesspeople that keeps my household running:

• Jason Duff of JD Audio (704-654-0880) who sorted out our stereo/TV system and comes over to fix it whenever I've screwed it up or added something strange--like our karaoke system and the wii--to it
• Scott Fletcher of Scott Fletcher Appliance (704-605-5037), who has now repaired every appliance I own except the ice maker
• Debbie Roberts of Gopher Dogs (704-778-7743), whose mobile dog grooming is a lifesaver for those of us whose dogs don't behave well with other dogs
• Drew Harkey of Drew Harkey's Window Cleaning (704-362-0026)
• Alan Williams of Fiber Services (704-543-0903) who treats my rugs and furniture so stains won't last forever
• Alicia Shumate (704-759-0054) who tunes my piano and harpsichord beautifully
• Queens Texaco on Providence (704-334-8427), where they always say "bring it over" when I have a car crisis
• Sylvia Fletcher, who bring pilates to me so I don't have to humiliate myself in public
• Ginny Mabry of Sterling Brownell Travel (704-987-3139), who does everything from family trips to Disney to girls' shopping trips to Italy (not that I have done one of the shopping trips, but a girl can dream!)

To Do: Shop local and support locally-owned businesses. You help the whole community.