Hooray for Small Business

It’s time for a little pat-on-the-back. Port Washington is growing the downtown presence one storefront at a time. As well, the solid, reputable, dependable businesses that are the mainstay of Port are stronger than ever. 

Everyone’s favorite Mexican restaurant, , has been in Port for 23 years this summer.  has thrived in Port two-plus decades, and, your favorite local grocer — — was opened by Joe in July of 2004.  Finally, one cannot think Port Washington without applauding , which has been in Port almost 40 years!

So what’s the big deal about longevity in our picturesque Port?  It’s the value to the local economy that our cornerstone (and newer) businesses provide. The American Express Small Business Forum puts it this way, "Local businesses put a lot more into the local economy than those big-box stores."

Think of it, for instance, in terms of payroll: Beanies employs on the average of 36 to 40 people, and Sanfilippo's Sentry has about 90 employees, depending on the
season. Even a small boutique, Wardrobe Safari and Zing Accessories, has had a
roster of a dozen employees at certain times of the year.

American Express CEO Ken Chenault (as quoted on American Express Small Business Saturday Business on Forbes.com) said: "Small businesses create half of the jobs in the private sector. [They] have created 65 percent of the net new jobs over the last 17 years. And if people support independently- owned small businesses in their community, they can make a difference."

As well, your local mom-and-pop restaurant or retail storefront infuses the local
economy by living in and spending in our fabulous little town. We carry
insurance through our local agencies, buy gas for our vehicles at our hometown
gas stations and dine in each other’s restaurants whenever possible.

There’s more: from the IndependentWeStand.org website, we learn that a simple ten dollars a month spent locally elevates the economy. Consider this: if every
family in the country spent an extra $10 a month with a locally owned/independent business instead of a national chain or big box, over $9.3 billion* would be directly returned to local economies. That translates to better schools, better roads, more support for police, fire and rescue departments and stronger local economies.

(The $9.3 million estimate is based on Civic Economics Andersonville Study of Retail
Economics: When you spend $100 at an independent business, $68 returns to the
local economy versus $43 when spent with a national chain; also based on U.S. Census projection of 115 million households.)

Hooray for . We’ve committed to doing our part to fortify our wonderful community. We have much to be proud of and much more to offer. Count on us and also let us know what we can do to enhance your local shopping and dining experience.