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Gideon’s Guide: Love Local

November 8, 2013

Growing up in the wonderful city of Cleveland Heights and being the son of my local loving father, I’ve come to be a big proponent of local business. I have a soft spot for small businesses, with each one’s unique character which adds a distinctive flavor to the area it’s in and with owners who are part of the community and who know the people who live there. I love that feeling I get when I support a local restaurant or store– the feeling that I’m helping the neighborhood, helping the residents around there, supporting the special personality it brings to the community, and experiencing something one of a kind.

Local businesses automatically make an area stand out and give it it’s own style and charisma; they give the denizens something to be proud of, to hold as their own. No one shows off that they have a Home Depot or CVS near their house or boasts about being able to get delicious Dunkin Donuts or a venti Starbucks laté right in their neighborhood. You know why? Because they’re everywhere! Pretty much wherever you go in the country you can drive through a McDonald’s, walk into a Target, or sit down at an Applebees. There’s no individuality, no novelty, just continuity and uniformity among communities throughout the nation.

Local businesses give an area a certain touch that cannot quite be replicated. If you go to New York you’re not gonna go to a Pizza Hut for a New York style pizza, and likewise you’re not going to a Quiznos in Philadelphia to get an authentic Philly cheese steak. Think about places like Swenson’s or Mitchell’s Ice Cream; these are independent businesses that help make Greater Cleveland different from other areas in the country. I don’t know about you, but I like being different!(well in a good way) I like having things about me or about where I’m from that differentiate myself from the crowd.

If you want to see the beauty of small business, go to Coventry Village: a thriving street, laden with unique little local shops, exuding a sort of modern hippie feel and a very distinct atmosphere that attracts people from all over. Or look at the areas right by our school: West 25th, Tremont, or East 4th across the river. There’s a reason why so many people love going to these areas– because it’s an experience you can get no where else!

There’s also a homey feel when I go into a local place. The owner lives around there, and you might even know the guy!(or lady, for equality’s sake) They know the town they know the people and they actually care about the community. I work at a local grocery store where everyone knows the owner and all the employees call him by his first name. A perfect example of a unique, home town small business is the fantastic novelty shop Big Fun. The owner, Steve Presser, loves Cleveland. They have Cleveland bumper stickers, postcards, magnets, made-to-order shirts, and a crap load of other Cleveland pride merchandise. Presser strives to make Cleveland the best it can be, supporting local events, local art, local development, etc.; and that’s precisely the kind of guy I want to buy from.

Now, supporting independent businesses doesn’t just preserve a nice culture and a cute community feel while shopping, it makes so much sense economically! When I go out to have a quality burger or buy a whoopee cushion, it’s pretty reassuring that 63% of the money goes back into the community. Not to mention, local businesses give 250% more money than non-locals, have a lesser impact on the environment, and make better use of our tax dollars!

I know, I know– many of you are probably thinking, “but Dominic! Not all of us live in such a splendid place that bursts with cool and exciting local shops!” And I know, it’s a struggle; but there’s still hope because there are small businesses all around you, yes, even in places like Strongsville and Mentor.

So don’t be a slave to the hundreds of thousands of big box stores that are stripping towns of their local identify! Break free, do something different, help the community, help the environment! For goodness sake, at least help Joe from across the street who owns the cute little bakery a few minutes away! Yet when you walk into a Heck’s or a Big Fun, you probably won’t think of the indirect support you’re giving to the community or the environment, or the tax dollars that are going to better use; but I bet you will have this wholesome feeling, like you’re doing something right, like you’re a part of something special– not just another in a long line of carbon copies, like you’re saying yes to the American ideals of individuality and the success of hard-working, middle-class local owners.