Supporting Locals

August 23, 2008 Local Business No Comments

There is so much talk about local these days, but I have to wonder if it
is simply talk or if people are putting the sentiment into action.

At neighbourknowledge.com we spent much of our summer talking to local
merchants. I didn’t hear a strong message that the cash registers are
ringing louder now then years gone by - in fact it seems the majority of
local merchants are struggling now, perhaps more so then ever.

Regardless of whether the stories were coming from urban Toronto, the
suburbs, small towns in Alberta or BC the themes were the same - big box
and chains are moving in and driving the rents up. Higher rents combined
with aggressive pricing by the chains means margins are being reduced to
the breaking point for many independent businesses.

This affects everyone - not just local merchants. If each community has
the same mix of chain drug store, chain coffee shops, and big box store,
then what differentiates them? Where does the character come from? This
trend towards generic neighbourhoods will affect everyone when
neighbourhoods all start to blend and lose their individual charm.

Two of my favourite haunts fell victim this summer. Both of these places
had been around for decades and had the decor to prove it. The Stem Open
Kitchen on Queen West. It has been on this once eclectic strip for 40
years, but has apparently fallen victim to the area trend toward chain
stores and much higher rents. Whether or not you are a fan of diner food
you must admit the neighbourhood has lost some character that it will
never get back when the Stem is replaced by yet another clothing store
chain or cafe.

In my own neighbourhood of “Upper” Beaches, Michaelangelos, a classic
old Italian restaurant on Gerrard St. closed this summer as well. My
husband and I really liked that there was a restaurant that we could
walk to and enjoy a great meal. When the dreaded “under renovation” sign
was posted, along with the disconnected phone number, I felt a real
loss. Our only option for dining out in the neighbourhood was gone
overnight. So for us the neighbourhood had changed for the worse.

These businesses had built a loyal clientele and reputations that any
start-up would envy. Yet for whatever reason they couldn’t make it. I’m
not suggesting that there isn’t a place in every neighbourhood for a mix
of independent and chain businesses, but after spending time out in many
neighbourhoods I think we are losing the right balance.

With all of the media attention focused on local why are these
businesses not enjoying the fruit of all of this attention?

Why is there such a gap between people talking local versus actually
shopping local? I for one am motivated to try to look further into the
questions, and I’m inspired to help make neighbourknowledge.com part of
the solution.