Small businesses struggling due to coronavirus need our support right now. While times have been tough for all of us lately, small businesses are especially hard hit by local shutdowns and safety protocols that limit their in-person customers. With the holiday season just behind us, small businesses were able to see a bump in business, but January and the months that follow tend to be slow times for all, as many people spend less after the holiday season. Even though many doors are not open, there are several ways you can help keep small businesses going. Below, you can see how our Sherwood Ford team does six things that you can also do to make a giant difference in our communities.
Even though the doors of restaurants in Alberta are closed due to coronavirus, curbside pickup is helping small businesses like Nitza’s Pizza to keep going with local support. If you’ve never been to Nitza’s Pizza, we encourage you to order your first pizza from them. To stay socially distanced, you can use curbside pickup or delivery to order from local restaurants.
Founded in 1989 by Peter Giannakopouylous, Nitza’s Pizza is a local pizza chain that first opened its doors in Sherwood Park 8 years ago. Peter renamed his restaurant after his niece, NItza, in her memory. Nitza’s Pizza is an avid supporter of the Stollery Hospital Foundation, also in memory of Nitza. They also support local sports and other organizations in the area through fundraisers and employ 150 local employees between their two locations in Sherwood Park and their third location in Leduc, including locally employed delivery drivers. They are a prime example of why we need local businesses in our community because they give back to and employ the people that you care about.
We know that a lot of people in the Edmonton and Sherwood Park community are looking for ways to support small businesses in 2021. Maybe it is even your New Year’s resolution to help a local business stay open. To the right, we have a list of six ideas for supporting local businesses around Edmonton this year. We know that each and every one of these actions would be highly appreciated by any local business in the area, and you’ll be making a difference in our community. Learn more about each of our ideas below.
Even if you don’t need more food, pet supplies, home décor, or whatever it is that small businesses supply to our community, you probably know someone else who does. Next time that you have to buy a gift, whether it be for a friend, coworker, or family member, consider purchasing a local gift card. This is a great way to support local businesses that you wouldn’t normally buy from and help circulate money in our own community.
People are understandably eating out a lot less this year than they were a year ago. While this is great for local health, it isn’t so great for small businesses. Local caterers and restaurants provide curbside pickup, no-contact delivery, and other options that you can take advantage of. That money that you spend will help keep your neighbors in the community employed.
You’d be surprised at how many products you can find locally. Whatever you need, from hygiene products to landscaping, there is sure to be a local business to fill that void. Next time you go shopping, consider whether the product you want to buy is being made in the area.
If you are the owner of a small business yourself, it is time that we help support each other. There are many ways that we can do this in our own lives but consider getting your business involved too. Small businesses can donate products and services to other local small businesses to help with fundraisers and giveaways.
Most of us are on at least one social media platform, and just about any social media platform can be used to support a small business. Leave positive reviews on places like Google, Yelp, and Facebook, or give your favorite business a shoutout on your own profile. Others will see your action and hopefully follow suit or consider buying from that business.
If you have the cash to spare, local charities and non-profit organizations are in great need of it. They are being hit two-fold by the pandemic, by the number of people who no longer can donate to them and the extra need for charities that this event has caused. They’ll put the cash towards whatever is needed most.
Other than encouraging you to support local businesses, we also are doing our best to give back to the community. Our team has done each of the six things that we have listed above, including purchasing $7,500 in gift cards from local businesses, ordering food every week from local businesses such as Nitza’s Pizzas for our staff, making donations to local businesses such as when we donated a car detailing package to Oodle Noodle, and more. We’ll always do our part to keep local small businesses open, but they need your support too. We hope that for those of you able to, you’ll decide to take part in one or more of the ideas that we listed.
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