#ShopSmallATL: Shop local to support your community

By Emily Giordano and Ben Kamber, Atlanta Main Street Program, Office of Housing and Community Development

Holiday shopping in Atlanta looks different this year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt normal business operations and drive more customers online. However, small businesses need support more than ever to survive the impacts of the pandemic.

This holiday season, Atlanta Main Street reminds you to “Love Local Atlanta” by shopping at small, locally owned businesses. Keeping money in the local economy supports our communities and preserves the legacy businesses and neighborhood commercial districts that create the character and flavor of Atlanta. It may take more effort in a pandemic, but there are still lots of ways to safely “Shop & Dine Small” across the city.

Atlanta Main Street is an initiative of the Department of City Planning to promote community-led and preservation-based economic development of our historic neighborhood business districts based on the National Main Street approach. East Atlanta, Sweet Auburn, West End, and Westview are the four inaugural fellowship communities implementing this framework. These historic districts are made up of small businesses, old and new, that provide the goods and services, creativity and culture that make neighborhoods distinct.

Every year, Main Street communities across the country promote their small businesses through the Shop Small campaign, that was created by American Express more than a decade ago. Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, kicks off the season on November 28. This year, the campaign extends to supporting local businesses – both in-person and online – all season long with a specific focus on Black-owned businesses.

Looking for ways to safety support small businesses in your community? From increased online offerings to reserved shopping hours to curbside pick-up options – shops and restaurants near you have invested in their spaces and operations to make shopping and dining safer. Events such as Dine Small in Sweet Auburn and the Stocking Stuffer Market in Virginia Highland offer safe and socially-distanced ways to support business districts across the city. 

Atlanta Main Street invites you to make the effort to show love and support to Atlanta’s local businesses, this season and always: #shopsmallATL