Business & Tech

Old Town Business Association Launches Shop Local Awareness Campaign

Old Town Manassas business owners ask for community support on Small Business Saturday and during the annual Merry Old Town Merchants Open House.

The more than 60 business and restaurant owners who call Old Town Manassas home have banded together for a campaign designed to keep Manassas residents’ retail dollars at home.

 The Old Town Business Association wants residents to shop locally because it is an investment in the community said Christine Finnie, owner of Whimsical Galerie in Old Town Manassas.

 A committee commissioned by the business association found that $68 of every $100 spent at a local business stays in the community, compared to just $43 spent at large chain stores.

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 The committee also found that no money spent online stays in the community.

 “Shopping local isn’t just about spending your money in a local business. It is supporting your neighbor, your friend, your neighbor’s friend – because the people who own these businesses are the same ones you see at your neighborhood grocery store or at the high school football game,” Finnie said.

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 Joanne Wunderly, president of the Old Town Business Association and others are especially pushing for support on Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24, a national promotion sponsored by American Express.

 Support is also encouraged during the Annual Merry Old Town Merchants Open House on Dec. 2.

There will be more Old Town Manassas events organized by the association in 2013, Wunderly said.

Old Town Manassas boasts independantly-owned unique shops, restaurants, upscale salons, a spa, artisan studios and artist galleries.

 The Old Town Bussiness Association, a nonprofit, holds monthly breakfast meetings at 8 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month upstairs in the City Tavern Resturant.

For membership information, visit their website www.manassasotba.com.

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