Inspired by campaign’s like Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s #ItsOurJobWNY and Visit Buffalo Niagara’s “Come Back to the Comeback” video, I wanted to follow suit by sharing some of the best ways to support Buffalo businesses during a global pandemic.
If you’ve grown up in Western New York, you can recall the experience of watching this region come into its own over the last decade. Seemingly overnight, the need to make Buffalo — not Toronto, Cleveland, or NYC — the place to be took hold. We made #SupportLocal the standard for being cool in Buffalo.
Now, more than ever, local businesses are in need of our support. Quarantine, social distancing guidelines, and anxiety over being out and about has negatively impacted these businesses’ bottom lines.
The time has come again for Western New York to show up for its small businesses.
How to Keep Your Money Local
1. Cut out the middleman.
Bear in mind, this recommendation may be hard to hear. Ordering takeout and delivery from our favorite restaurants is a great way to minimize human contact while still enjoying delicious food.
Sadly, well-known delivery apps often charge local establishment a fee for their services, requiring compensation for delivery, commission, and promotions.
The only way to ensure 100% of the profit goes right into a business is to order directly from the restaurant.
2. Drink locally.
There’s something to be said about the convenience of the Starbucks app, and how easy it is to pick up a six-pack of domestic beer at the corner store.
But if we’re serious about supporting the local economy, vowing to drink local coffee and booze is a relatively low-cost way to do so. Some ideas:
- Sit for dinner at your favorite happy hour destination, don’t forget the mask!
- Purchase local brews at retailers like the Lexington Coop, or directly from breweries like Thin Man and CBW
- Working from home? Stock up on Public Espresso and Tipico beans
- Tack on an extra 10 in the morning to grab morning joe from a local shop
3. Buy from owner-operated shops and boutiques.
Hard as it may be to admit, we’re all going out a lot less. Many people have used remote working as an excuse to save money on clothes shopping, whether that’s a professional wardrobe or dressing to impress.
In the event that a special event does sneak its way onto your calendar — be it the holidays, a birthday, or an anniversary — consider shopping at an owner-operated shop or boutique that you might pass up normally.
4. Change up your grocery haul.
Pandemic or not, we’re all still finding a way to grocery shop. Do your part next time by filling up your cart at a smaller store. These shops rely on steady local demand to keep their doors open, and bonus! They tend to have an interesting selection of local products and goods.
- Dash’s Market
- Guercio & Sons
- Lexington Cooperative Market
- East Aurora Cooperative Market
- Feel Rite Fresh Markets
- The Vegan Grocery Store
- Niagara Produce
For a full list of woman-owned local businesses to support during the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.