10/21/2026
You know you've said it a million times! Make the effort to get downtown and support local. Your downtown depends on it! 💙
A few years ago, a local restaurant owned by a friend announced it was closing, and I made the mistake of peeking at the comments.
I couldn’t get over how many people were saying, “I’ve been meaning to stop by!”
The restaurant had been open for more than a year.
What struck me was how casually people said it, almost as if they were disappointed the restaurant couldn’t have held on a little longer so they could finally get around to visiting.
I get most people meant well, but imagine spending more than a year paying rent, buying inventory, making payroll and hoping enough people would walk through the door, only to announce you can’t afford to stay open and hear how many people had been planning to come…but didn’t.
Now to be fair, nobody owes a business their money. People have budgets and preferences, and small businesses still have to give people a reason to come back. But if we genuinely want thriving downtowns, we have to do more than admire the idea of small businesses downtown. Just like family and friendships, we have to be there even when it’s a bit inconvenient.
Try the new restaurant while it’s still new and go back if you like it. Make plans to meet a friend at a local business instead of defaulting to the same places and be an advocate for the places you love before they announce they’re closing.
And our downtown organizations can help by creating reasons to visit on an ordinary Tuesday, not just during a big event. Give people a reason to come, stay a while and discover another business.
At the end of the day, I don’t want a small business owner’s last few weeks to be their busiest because everyone suddenly realized they were running out of time.
So here’s my homework for you this week: If you’ve been meaning to stop by a small business, do so by Friday. 📝 Let’s start a small movement in our small towns.
