Support our local businesses

Towns in the Tri-state area are starting to feel the full effects of high vaccination rates following the year of pandemic. One of the welcome parts of it is how few vacancies there are in shops and storefronts throughout the Northwest Corner. Many of us may have been holding our breaths, hoping that our favorite restaurants and stores would still be here once more of us could venture out in larger numbers again. There were no guarantees. After all, in other parts of the state, the region and the country, many small businesses did not make it through.

The challenges faced by these small businesses, among which this newspaper counts itself, included of course the need to shut down their normal structure in the face of danger due to COVID. None of us wanted to put our staff or customers at risk. We, like many other businesses described as essential by the state, kept our offices open throughout the pandemic on a limited basis depending on current safety recommendations. We moved our staff to remote working as was possible to keep the newspapers publishing. But for the food stores, pharmacies, package stores, florists, critical health care, delivery people, hardware stores, lumber yards and so many more, remote work was not an option. They were busier than ever, but still needed to change the way they were doing things and spend more money to do that during the pandemic. So we’re fortunate so many are still here and not only stable but growing.

Kudos to those small business owners who found creative ways to continue to provide their services, yet remain vigilant in keeping people as safe as possible in the past year. On the economic side, being able to apply for the government PPP loans/grants made all the difference for many of them. Thanks go to all the area banks that were there for their business partners to help them obtain that help. Credit also goes to the owners and staff who did their best to remain calm in the face of COVID and find new ways to make their businesses function. When some faced having the illness affect their workplaces directly, they were responsible in closing when they had to, deep cleaning and reevaluating their systems to keep going in the long term. It hasn’t been easy.

Give them support now as life is starting to open up, if cautiously for some. It’s a great relief to see people congregating at shops and restaurants, many of which have outdoor seating that is welcome at any time in spring but especially now. It’s been a long, hard winter for many of them, and they are as happy to see you as you are to see them. All local businesses need your support now to make it through this next phase of pandemic life. 

You can keep track of them through your local Tri-State Chamber of Commerce, by going to their website at www.tristatechamber.com to see what businesses are available in this area. And check out business services in this newspaper’s Specialist section, in print and at www.tricornernews.com, as well as in the general advertising in the papers and on the website. Supporting them is the only way to keep them here and thriving into the future.