1 Mar 2001

In Boulder, Buying Local Pays

by | Date: 1 Mar 2001 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Residents of Boulder, Col. no longer have to choose between supporting a locally owned retailer and shopping elsewhere for a better deal. For $15—less than the price of membership at one warehouse buying club—they can purchase a Community Benefit Card from the Boulder Independent Business Alliance (BIBA). The card provides discounts and other benefits at more than 60 local businesses, with most knocking 10 percent off every product and service they offer. … Read More
1 Mar 2001

Vermont Country Stores Form Alliance

by | Date: 1 Mar 2001 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Vermont is home to more than 250 country stores, many of which have been the center of their communities for well over a century. Country stores are as varied and unique as the towns they serve. Most are small, cozy, locally owned and operated, and housed in historic buildings. Their offerings include staple products like newspapers and bread, as well as goods geared to the local market, such as fishing lures or gourmet cheeses.

… Read More
1 Mar 2001

New Law Keeps Kansas City Business District Small-Scale

by | Date: 1 Mar 2001 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In late November, the Kansas City Council voted to approve new zoning rules to protect the Brookside business district from large-scale, suburban-style chain store development. The ordinance restricts retail uses to 10,000 square feet, except for grocery stores, which may be as large as 25,000 square feet, prohibits drive-through restaurants, limits building heights, caps the number of parking spaces allowed, and sets design standards for the neighborhood. … Read More
8 Jan 2001

When a Giant Retailer Moves On, It Leaves its ‘Big Box’ Behind

by | Date: 8 Jan 2001 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Most people are familiar with the damage Wal-Mart, Target and other"big box" retailers have done to local economies. Across the country, these giant stores have gutted downtowns and decimated locally owned businesses.

Now the national chains are dealing communities a second blow. They are vacating their existing stores, sometimes to build bigger outlets, sometimes just closing up shop, in both cases leaving huge empty shells and acres of asphalt behind.

… Read More
8 Jan 2001

When a Giant Retailer Moves on, It Leaves its ‘Big Box’ Behind

by | Date: 8 Jan 2001 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Most people are familiar with the damage Wal-Mart, Target and other "big box" retailers have done to local economies. Across the country, these giant stores have gutted downtowns and decimated locally owned businesses. Now the national chains are dealing communities a second blow. They are vacating their existing stores, sometimes to build bigger outlets, sometimes just closing up shop, in both cases leaving huge empty shells and acres of asphalt behind. … Read More
1 Jan 2001

Iowa Group Launches Buy Local Campaign

by | Date: 1 Jan 2001 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The front of the poster shows Uncle Sam with his arms embracing a store owner and a shopper, superimposed over an outline of the state of Iowa and a drawing of Main Street. The back lists ten reasons to support independent businesses. Number one: Money spent at a local business stays in your community. … Read More
1 Jan 2001

Maine Town Recruits an Independent Pharmacist

by | Date: 1 Jan 2001 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Faced with a gap in the local retail base—no pharmacy or bookstore, for example—city officials almost invariably try to lure a national chain into the community. There often seems to be little alternative: how exactly does a town go about establishing a new independent business to fulfill an important function? While there’s no obvious path and it may well prove more difficult than attracting a chain, officials of Orono, Maine recently demonstrated that it can be done.… Read More

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