Why Local?

As an independent, locally owned business, Chelsea along with our sister store Willow Tree has a vested interest and is biased in encouraging the support of such businesses as ours over national chains. It can't be denied, nor would we even begin to try.

Our bias is well founded in personal belief. On every front, we find locally owned businesses to be more interesting, more connected to the customers that support them, more connected to their communities, and more supportive of other locally owned businesses that synergistically create and strenghthen the commuties in which they operate. It is almost always so much more rewarding to us to spend our money with them. We support them every bit as much for selfish reasons, and we are proud of it and glad for our selfishness. They matter to us, they satisfy us more, they are important to us. We like them, and we like them in large part because they like us. They love us, they wrap their policies around us, they love the entire act of doing business in the communities they love. So do we.

To focus on just one venue: The food that national chains serve is generally good, if unsurprising. One has to be deliberately contrary to find fault with the product or the service or even the cookie cutter ambiance of Olive Garden or Carraba's or Outback or any of dozens of other chain operations that populate every metropolitan area in the country. It's also clear that they are highly successful, with crowded parking lots and waiting lists on most nights.

But there's no heart. We're all just numbers at places like that. Rattling off examples of local restaurants that know us and connect with us in countless ways is easy, and it's gratifying to do so. If they were to fail and close their doors, it would matter, it would be sad and they would be missed.

So we support them. We do our best to direct the dollars that are our weapon of choice to all the places that matter to us. As often as we can, in every type of store we can, we support the independent, and leave the nationals to fend for themselves through their endless advertising budgets and remodeling efforts.

Every meal at a local restaurant matters. Each trip to the small grocer pays another bill for them, keeping them stronger than they would be without our support. And yes, every suit or shirt purchased at a store like ours matters. It is always a choice that we make, either automatically without consideration, or consciously with intent for the purposess we decide on.

When you see the "Think Local" signs and hear the words, think of it in this way if you can. Each and every one of our decisions has a small but powerful impact on the health of the meshed network of our local community. Multiply it by 10, then 100, then 1,000 and so on, and the impact becomes crystal clear. But it starts with an awareness of the power of our choice, and it hinges on the willingness to voice that opinion and commitment.

More in a future blog. There's much to share. Once one opens the door, it becomes harder to NOT think of the power of their spending. So ours is to open doors.

Visit www.the350project.net. Locals love us more.