Supporting Local Businesses & Restaurants Through COVID-19

This is a uniquely challenging time for small, local businesses. Now more than ever, let’s show these places how much they mean to our community.

HERE ARE SOME IDEAS WE’VE COMPILED TO GIVE YOU A STARTING POINT:

• Check websites and social media accounts for hours of your favorite spots.

• If you can’t make it in, check to see if curbside pick-up or delivery is an option. 

• Please tip the staff well if you are picking up or having food delivered.

• Think before every purchase right now. Ask yourself if what you’re ordering online could be ordered through a locally-owned small businesses that have an online shop before looking elsewhere.

• If a business doesn’t have an online shop or doesn’t have all of their products online, reach out in a message to ask if they can still ship it to you. If so, scroll through past photos and shop that way instead.

• Purchase coffee grounds from your local coffee shop instead of the grocery store.  Look for shipping or alternative ways to pick-up.

• Purchase beer, wine, and other spirits from your favorite local spots instead of the grocery store. Look for shipping or alternative ways to pick-up.

• Purchase a gift card (online or over the phone) to use at a later time! Businesses still have bills due even when sales decline, and cash flow is key to keeping them afloat!

• If you use a service regularly, consider paying them as usual if you are able, even if you are not able to use the service at this time. 

• Leave a great review online for your favorite businesses.

• Sign up for email newsletters to get information on updates, specials, and of course how to support before and after this season. You’re probably already signed up for a quite a few, but get on the ones you really care about!

• Interact with their social media accounts: like, follow, share what you love about them.

• Encourage them.

• Understand and be supportive of hard decisions business owners will be making in the coming weeks, even if that means temporarily closing to protect others.

• Even more so, let’s not forget about places WITHOUT social media accounts too! Think through the neighborhood spots in your area and consider how you could support them as well. 

• Share the graphic from this post to remind others.

• Share what steps you’re taking to creatively support local businesses & restaurants during this season.

If you’re in Tucson, please add your favorite businesses to our Local Business list and your favorite restaurants to our Local Restaurant list. We also have a Local Non-Profit list you can add to, and we are working on ways to support local artists & makers in our community as well. Please stay tuned for more updates.

DO YOU HAVE OTHER IDEAS ON WAYS TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES AND RESTAURANTS IN THIS TIME? PLEASE LEAVE YOUR ADDITIONS BELOW IN THE COMMENTS.