Shop Local Campaign Catches on for Holidays

For many shops in Port Washington and Saukville, the holidays are a vital time for business and can serve as an indicator of community demand and support for their presence.

This year, amid a concerted push from the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Program to encourage local shopping, many business owners said customers were making a stronger effort to support neighborhood stores over the holidays. 

"We had a lot of people tell us that they were specifically trying to shop local and shop downtown," said Deb Neulreich, owner of in Port. "I think the buy local push through the chamber is probably working."

However, it wasn't enough for everyone. After a , Fair Trade for All owner Gail Bennett said she was hoping the holidays would help the store at least break even. Though the books aren't fully tallied, she said it looks like they did not meet that goal and she and her husband, Allen Christian, plan to close the Port store when their six-month lease is up on Saturday.

"We didn’t hit our target, but we were still pleased with the community response to shopping local at the holidays," Bennett said.

Bennet said the store had many customers looking to support local business and the fair trade ethic, but the response did not match their Shorewood store where they've done double the business, or their Wauwatosa store where daily sales about quadruple what they do in Port.

Although they could not afford to continue the store in its current Port location, Bennett said they will consider opening in another Port storefront, maybe with lower rent.

"There was a lot of great energy up there and a lot of community support," Bennett said. "I hope we can take a little rest and come back in a better spot."

For other businesses, the holidays exceeded expectations. At in Port, entering its second year in business, employee Jesi Conradt said they had record sales for after Thanksgiving, followed by a strong turnout around Christmas.

Conradt said many shoppers told her they were motivated by an editorial in the Ozaukee Press that encouraged supporting downtown businesses.

"A lot of people were saying they just wanted to stay local this year with their shopping," Conradt said.

The message seems to have spread to Saukville, too. At in Saukville, owner Beth Schaffner said the holidays were busier this year than usual, even though walk-in traffic was limited with construction.

"We've had a lot of new customers and a lot of repeat," she said. "Thank you to the community for supporting our business."