City of Dayton pushes people to shop at small businesses

DAYTON — The City of Dayton is encouraging people to shop at local small businesses, as part of an initiative started after another difficult time in the city.

Since the middle of August, the city has been featuring small businesses on its Facebook page for its initiative, Shop Local Dayton.

One of the places it highlighted, was Wholly Grounds. The Wayne Avenue coffee shop had only been open for about a year before the pandemic hit.

“It’s been rough. And it’s still rough now,” Amy Williams, Wholly Grounds’ co-owner said.

She said at the start of the pandemic, business dropped 50 to 60 percent. Now, profits have picked up a bit, but they have not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

“It’s still slow and I know the other shops are hurting too,” Williams said.

This is exactly why the City of Dayton is pushing people to shop small.

Mayor Nan Whaley said the Shop Local Dayton initiative came after the Memorial Day tornadoes and the Oregon District mass shooting. Now, the city has picked it back up.

She said supporting small businesses now will help everyone post-pandemic.

“We’re going to get to the other side of COVID, and we’re going to get to the other side of this COVID recession,” Whaley said. “But if we wake up on the other side and we don’t have local businesses in place, it will affect overall the economy of the entire community.”

This is something Williams understands.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m here to make a living too. I’m here to make a profit. But I feel like small businesses are kind of like more connected to the community, trying to offer something different, something a little unique, and I think people appreciate that,” Williams said.

The City of Dayton has also featured Reza’s, Texas Beef and Cattle Company, and Flawless Barber Shop as part of Shop Local Dayton. It plans to feature more businesses moving forward.

Cox Media Group