So Far Behind, We're Ahead

Culture.  Commerce.  Environment.  You've seen these words in our Stay Local! tagline.   There's ample evidence that all three benefit when you spend dollars locally, an act trendwatching.com, an "independent and opinionated consumer trends firm," has flagged as the Big New Thing.  In their article "(Still) Made Here", the authors examine "the comeback of all things local, all things with a sense of place, and how they're surfacing in a world dominated by globalization."  The movement, according to the article, is fueled by 3 main drivers:  social responsibility, status, and the desire to support the local community.

 Growing interest in the local economy movement is evident in increasing traffic at Stay Local!, with most traffic generated by search engines (over half coming from Google) and the business listing page the top page visited after the home page.

How can you ride this wave?  If your business is listed at www.staylocal.org, it's time to boost your visibility.  How?  Enhance your listing.   It's easy, inexpensive, and best of all, your tax-deductible donation gets reinvested in Stay Local! projects that support the local economy. And make sure your Stay Local! door decal is prominently displayed at your place of business.

In New Orleans, shopping locally isn't exactly making a "comeback" since it never went away; we inhabit one of the few American cities that has retained its vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood commercial corridors into the 21st century.  I guess that makes us cutting edge.  So give yourself a pat on the back.  Better yet, go reward your socially responsible self with a homegrown sno-ball. And if you're a business owner, don't forget to enhance yourself!

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  Freret is on the Map!

The Freret District is the featured commercial corridor in the latest Stay Local! Neighborhood Guide & Map. Business owners like Dennis Sigur, owner of Dennis' Barber Shop, now benefit both from their online listing in the Stay Local! directory and their presence in the print guides.  The guides are available at businesses along Freret St., and will also be distributed at the New Orleans Tourist Welcome Center at 2020 St. Charles Ave., and to new and returning university students at nearby Tulane and Loyola.  Renaissance Publishing will distribute several thousand as inserts in the July issue of New Orleans Magazine as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting locally-owned businesses.  Freret Guides are also downloadable from the Stay Local! website.

Neighborhood Housing Services and Idea Village worked with Stay Local! to provide content and generous financial support.  To learn how to partner with Stay Local! to sustain our Map & Guide Project and take it to every neighborhood with a commercial corridor, contact Dana Eness at dana@staylocal.org.

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Bikin' Through New Orleans...

On Thursday, May 31, Stay Local! led 20 urban planners attending the Planners Network conference on a bicycle tour of New Orleans.  We stopped at La Divina Gelateria on Magazine St., Slice Pizzeria on St. Charles, and the Hi-Ho Lounge on St. Claude Avenue.  We heard the stories of shop owners who had weathered Katrina, including David Greengold of Slice and Juan's Flying Burrito and  Dora Cullen of Shoenami and Frock Candy, as well as entrepreneurs who had seen an opportunity and started their business after the storm, like Carmelo and Katrina Turillo of La Divina Gelateria (seen at right with a rockin' California biker chick) and John Hartsock of the Hi-Ho Lounge.  Other speakers included Michael Hecht of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, Robin Keegan of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, Justin McGary of Mr. T's, Kina Joshua of St. Claude Main Street, and Kieran Cahalen of The Green Project.

Check out La Divina's great lunch specials...yum!

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  News and Events

Oak Street Bar-B-Q, Farmers Market in the Upper 9, Curbside Recycling Reborn, and more.  We know that local business owners provide much more than the goods and services they sell.  Learn about these and other creative local-business-led initiatives enriching our lives.

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This newsletter was sent to you for at least one of the following reasons:  you have registered a qualifying locally-owned and operated business within Greater New Orleans to be listed on Stay Local!'s website; you are a business advocate that provides financial, technical or other assistance to locally-owned businesses in the Greater New Orleans area; or you are an individual who understands that shopping at independent businesses first and whenever possible supports a more sustainable economy and environment, and strengthens New Orleans' one-of-a-kind culture. 

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