Buying Local Has Never Been More Important

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Grant Miller

That famous phrase that all politics is local is also true of business in a pandemic. Local. Local. Local.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are in the process of getting everything open.

Now, we have our chance to give stores the business they need to help keep them going.

Yes, it’s going to be more complicated to buy local, but what else do you have to do? Wear your masks, wear your gloves and wash your hands and get out there. Don’t tell me I’m taking you away from another Zoom meeting.

Instead of shopping at a big box, go to a locally owned business. Yes, we all love Starbucks, but that money goes to Washington State.

There are plenty of mom and pops that are struggling to survive, businesses that thrived for years, that employed dozens of fathers and mothers. Now multiply that times all the restaurants on your corner, up the street, all your local favorites where memories with family were made incrementally over years. Maybe your picture hangs on their wall along with other locals, sharing food or celebrating a birthday or anniversary.

Expect local businesses that are opening to have limitations, only letting in a few people at a time while others wait outside. They need your support, so have patience.

Why not hop on the Google Machine, find your local farmer and buy direct.

If you like beer, there are local breweries in Wynwood and Titanic in South Miami instead of the grocery store. And, if you like to drink wine more than you used to, like Don Corleone said in “The Godfather”, and who isn’t during the pandemic, you can stop in at the local shop that your neighbor owns – not the big guys – and drop a few bucks for a nice bottle of rose. There is always a reason to celebrate including Memorial Day, which is right around the corner.

Make sure you call the business first or check their website to see what their hours of operations are and to learn their procedures. Be prepared because the person helping you will likely be wearing a mask, as will pretty much everyone in the place. And, that’s good. It’s what we have to do.

There will likely be fewer people in the place too, but this is the way we get back to business. And in times like these, giving your neighbor “the business” is the best thing a local can do.

So, remember buy local first, then Miami-Dade, then Florida. It will warm your heart and help keep our community thriving.


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