'9Teen Strong' Monopoly Game Begins Soon: Bev Biz Beat

CHICAGO — In 2019, the business community in Mount Greenwood had those unbelievably fun and addicting S&T Provisions scavenger hunts. And in 2020, they will add another fun way to support local businesses. This "9Teen Strong" monopoly game organized by The Plug T-Shirt store comes with quite a bit of cash incentive as well.

Dave Burchett, owner of The Plug and the Avance Warehouse on 111th Street in Mount Greenwood, came up with a monopoly board in which all 19 pieces represent neighborhood businesses in Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park (the 19th Ward). The rules of the game, which starts on Jan. 15, are simple. Participants must:

1. Select “Going” on the Facebook event page that will be revealed on New Year's Day.

2. Like and follow all the participating businesses pages. Cutrone Barbershop, Grant's Wonderburger, Bacon & Jam, S & T Provisions, Nine One One BBQ Shack, County Fair Foods, Open Outcry Brewing Company, Avance Warehouse, The Quilter's Trunk, Shrader's Goods, Americanos, Firewater Saloon - Mt. Greenwood, Diggity Dogs, Cakewalk Chicago, Hinky Dinks, Face To Face Salon & Spa, Fat Tommy's Chicago Fans, Sweet Freaks Chocolates, Barraco's.

Here's the full Monopoly board you'll be using

3. Collect three of the same colored business game pieces to win $300 in cash. An additional $100 will be won if the three businesses from the pieces collected all gain more than 1,000 new Facebook followers after the game starts and another $100 will be won if the winner has a receipt from all 19 of the participating businesses on the board.

- To get a game piece, you will need to make a purchase at one of 19 businesses that are partaking in the effort. The game piece will be random and could represent any of the 19 businesses on the board, and much like the McDonald's monopoly game as some will be much easier to find than others. The S & T Provisions piece which is worth $300 on its own, will be the toughest to find.

4. Once all the $5,700 is all won, it's game over.

5. If by Feb. 5 there is still money left to be won, people will be able to turn in the receipts they have collected from the participating stores during the contest timeframe and a raffle will be done live for the remaining winnings. The game will end on Feb. 5.

In addition to the $5,700 that will be given away, another 12 businesses will donate more than a $5,000 total to youth organizations as part of the effort.

"These businesses wanted to participate in the game but didn’t sell anything retail so we had them donate to these local youth organizations in the 19th Ward," Burchett said.

There will also be daily giveaways, according to Burchett. These will follow the same format S&T Provisions used in a recent contest promoting local businesses with a different game being played on Facebook every day during the contest period.

"We'd like to have 8,000 to 10,000 people participating," Burchett said. "The idea is to get people out into the stores. And if people play the game, the businesses are happy and they are happy to donate the money."

While this idea was Burchett's alone, he credits S&T Owner Brian Giaretta as a "tremendous help" in putting it all together.

"He's the best at this," Burchett said.

This version of business Monopoly not only helps small businesses, but is much easier to play than Monopoly games at McDonald's or Jewel-Osco, Burchett said.

"McDonald's and Jewel made it really hard to win and people lost interest," he said. "But this game is simple, and will only go on for three weeks. And, in the end, all the money will be won."