Tully: From Mass Ave to Broad Ripple, shop local
It might sound trite to jump on something as trendy as the shop-local bandwagon. But it really is an important campaign with very real benefits.
And I got hit the other night with a strong desire to once again join the bandwagon.
There I was, looking at my newly purchased Christmas tree at my home away from home — or, as others call it, Sullivan Hardware. A teenage employee was putting the tree into the stand I’d brought with me so that my household could avoid a toppling-tree escapade like the one that caused us so much ornament carnage last year. Nearby, my son was sitting on the store’s floor, eating a bag of complimentary popcorn and loving Sullivan’s impressive holiday train display.
Once the tree was set firmly in the stand, I told my wife I’d just lug it home, as our house isn’t far away and that seemed easier than tying a 7-foot tree to the car hood. A manager overheard my words and walked over to offer one of the store’s large carts so that my trek home would be a lot easier.
“Just bring it back whenever,” he said. “No hurry.”
On the walk home I thought about a very different experience I’d had a couple of years earlier at one of the area’s big-box hardware stores. I’d just bought an assembled barbecue grill and was standing near the store’s front door when a grim-faced worker rolled the gas grill up to me and then walked away without saying a word, apparently confident that I could get the heavy, awkwardly shaped purchase into the back of my Honda without a hand.
These very different endings to two shopping experiences add up to just one of many reasons I try to shop local whenever I can.
Now, I don’t want to beat up on national chains and big-box stores; I spend plenty of time and money at them. But the shop-local movement is vital to Indy’s economy, as every dollar spent at a local business circulates nearby with much greater power than money spent at businesses based elsewhere.
As the American Independent Business Alliance notes, local businesses “employ more people directly per dollar of revenue,” and are much more likely to spend their earnings on “local printers, accountants, wholesalers, farms, attorneys, etc.” In other words, on things that “expand opportunities for local entrepreneurs.”
So here’s a plea: With just a few days left in the holiday season, consider picking up one of your final gifts or other purchases at a locally owned store. Pop into a business in Broad Ripple, Mass Ave, Downtown Danville, or Main Street in Carmel — wherever. Every town has its share of local businesses run by local people trying hard to make it in a competitive retail economy, and rewarding them for what they offer seems fitting for the season.
Right?
Need a book? Yes, I know Target and Walmart have plenty. But there’s also Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore in Butler Tarkington, and Indy Reads Books Downtown. Need a toy for that niece or nephew? Give Mass Ave Toys Downtown a chance. A bottle of wine? Why not pick up a bottle at Easley Winery, 205 N College Ave., or another local spot.
Need some music that doesn’t come downloaded? Don’t forget about Luna Music, or Indy CD and Vinyl. How about a gift card? You can pick one up at a local bar or restaurant. Have artsy friends? Get them Phoenix Theater tickets, or a Jazz Kitchen gift certificate.
I could go on. But you get the point.
Listen, plenty of national chains do a lot of good for the community. And, yes, the prices are usually a bit higher at small local stores. So if price is everything — and that is something I understand — don’t worry. But if you can spare an extra buck for a book or a bottle or something else — and, to be honest, often you won’t even need to — it’s worth the investment.
It’s the local spots, after all, that create that local feel that most of us crave and that turn blocks of land and buildings into real communities. And while I have to admit that I love Starbucks and a fair share of non-local restaurants, I appreciate even more the local coffee joints and restaurants that all feel so different from each other.
It’s in those places that I often find something new and surprising, as I did the other day when my family popped into an intriguing bohemian-style joint in Downtown Zionsville called Darrin’s Coffee Company, or when I met a friend for lunch a while back at Carniceria Guanajuato, a Mexican restaurant in Lafayette Square. Or even in a store like Robert’s Camera, where I received a handful of beautifully printed photos, and two or three “thanks for coming in,” on my way out the door Monday.
So think about crossing one or two items off the shopping list at a locally owned business. If you do, you’ll likely discover something new and cool, and, along the way, you’ll give a boost to a local entrepreneur who deserves it.
You can reach me at matthew.tully@indystar.com or at Twitter.com/matthewltully.