Buy Local, Part II

I neglected to post the second part of the Current's Buy Local series, so here it is.

A solid effort offering multiple perspectives. The majority of the business owners interviewed appreciated the effort but didn't necessarily support the bylaw banning(I initally typed buylaw. Seems more fitting) chain stores from downtown for many of the reasons previously stated: a few Gaps here and there might draw more business to downtown.

But I was struck by one seemingly innocous comment by one shop owner.

“We enjoy the tourist trade, but we count on local customers to keep us in business.”

Really? That's actually quite startling because the majority of people I talk to about downtown don't shop in our local stores. They may hit local restaurants, but not local stores.

And I always got the sense the local stores were okay with that. The Chamber of Commerce seems focused more on finding ways to bring new people and new money to town. There's wisdom in that for sure, but as we've discussed, the notion of buying locally owned and locally made products is increasingly popular.

The chamber should be seeking to capitalize on that.

So one has to give a lot of credit to the Buy Local group. They not only got this discussion going, but if I'm not mistaken they're the ones who got a "Buy Local" sticker in every shop downtown. I know they're only stickers, but the message is a strong one.

Perhaps the chamber ought to reach out to the group to help broadcast it.

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Mayors and Blogs

Interesting article in the Globe this morning about mayors who blog. When executed well it sounds like a great idea, although most of them sound like places to post boring press releases.

I'd like to see this in Newburyport. But not just the mayor. Why not have regular communications from public safety, schools, even teachers and students. Granted there are some risks, but there's no better way of getting a message out.

One line in particular struck me although it had nothing to do with Newburyport.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who doesn't have a computer in his office, does not have a blog.

Hard to believe everyone doesn't have a computer in his or her office these days.

Tables Are Nice, But...

The notion of setting up tables outside our downtown retaurants is a nice one. Yes, I think it will provide a nice, open feel to the downtown. I'm a little worried about space, but we'll make due.

However, is this really an idea that will sell Newburyport?

I'm not too sure. But here's one that would, in my biased opinion. Plus, this brilliant concept would go hand-in-hand with the open table format.

Cover the downtown in a wireless Internet signal. (Full disclosure, my brother suggested this to me a while ago.)

I mean how cool would that be? We could market the downtown as being open to the Internet and all its charms. Folks could sit on sidewalk tables while doing work, keeping in touch with friends, doing research on the delightful item they just saw in one of our stores.

Yes, some folks will linger. But I think its short-sighted to worry about that. The positive marketing will far outweigh any negatives.

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