Granby Chamber of Commerce Launches 'Buy Local' Initiative

Jerry Crane, the owner of in Granby, has a favorite story he likes to tell concerning the shopping habits of people.

During this past holiday season, Crane said that an elderly woman entered his store at 569 Salmon Brook St. and told him that she was only shopping at stores along Route 10 in Avon, Simsbury and Granby.

“She said that she was finding all of these charming shops that she didn’t know existed,” Crane said in a recent interview.

Building on that one woman’s approach to holiday shopping, the Granby Chamber of Commerce launched a “Buy Local” campaign that kicked off at the town’s Memorial Day parade on Monday.

According to the Chamber’s website, the following are benefits to buying local:

Be Local        

• Your local businesses give back more to the community
• More of your dollars stay in the community
• More jobs stay in the community

Find anything you need locally

• Granby is a wealth of farms, retail, and even manufacturing.
• Develop relationships locally.
• Find affordable prices in our community. Local business don't have the expense of large distribution channels, the cost of transport, etc.

The "sense" of buying local

• For every $1 spent at local businesses, 45¢ is reinvested locally. Non-local purchases keep, at most, 15¢ in your local community.
• Local businesses value, respect and appreciate your patronage. Developing relationships with local businesses and owners means you will have someone on your side when you need them. That is community.
• Your tax dollars support local schools and roads

As Bill Ross, owner of the , put it more succinctly, “You’re buying from your neighbors.”

For more information on the Chamber’s Buy Local initiative, visit its website here.