Business Association Hopes to Revitalize Downtown with ‘Think Local’

Store and business owners in Western Springs are readying the launch of a major new long-term marketing initiative, with the hope of strengthening the Village’s economy by coordinating businesses and promoting a message of neighborhood commerce.

The initiative, under the motto “Think Local, Spend Local, Be Local,” will be kicked off at a special Western Springs Business Association meeting in the fourth week of March. Organizers say the event will mark the beginning of a new way of thinking about doing business in the Village.

Emphasis is to be placed on the benefit towards the entire community when business is done between local providers and local residents. The program’s developers estimate that 67 percent of money spent in Western Springs stays in the Village, through taxes, rents and salaries to local employees.

“The slogan is meant to [show] a circular pattern,” explained Lynn Anne Gantt, who was contracted to develop the initiative. “I, as a consumer, when I spend local, benefit in tangible ways from their involvement in my community—better rec center, better kids’ events, long-term entrepreneurs who are committed to seeing the community succeed.”

And, crucially, more success for businesses that operate in Western Springs would mean that more businesses would consider setting up shop in Western Springs, filling the several empty downtown buildings and storefronts that many residents consider eyesores.

“We have lost some significant businesses downtown, and I find that distressing,” Gantt said. “I want those businesses to be filled. I want [the former] Tischler’s to be filled. And I think people here want that.”

Local small-store business nationwide has suffered in recent decades with the rise of big-box chains offering one-stop shopping and promises of extreme discounts. The recession of the last few years has only worsened the issue as customers tighten their belts and their wallets.

But Thomas Druffel, a resident, organizer and owner of local business Druffel & Associates, Inc., says that local businesses have plenty of their own benefits—benefits they need to be selling themselves on.

“If you go into these local shops, people know you by name and will call you by name,” Druffel said. “Add in the time involved to drive to a big-box store, and the cost of driving ten miles as opposed to a mile and a half [and compare them.]

“Service is better [locally], and prices on many items are extremely competitive, even cheaper. If we can do some price comparisons, we can help to educate the public.”

Gantt says that programs like “Think Local” can increase revenue in town by five percent or more, a big deal for small-business owners.  While the specifics of the plan are still being worked out—it may include digital signage, fliers, coupons and seminars; Gantt acknowledged the main purpose right now was to “create buzz”—organizers did suggest one potential collaboration: a dinner-and-a-show package with Vie Restaurant and the Theatre of Western Springs.

“This is a long range [look at] how can we transform how we view ourselves,” Gantt said. “It’s not just about ‘spend your money here.’ It’s about thinking local, being local—and that would naturally encompass spending local. It’s all three things.”

Joe Lane, the manager of Village staple business Casey’s Market, called the initiative “something that we’ve sorely needed for a long time,” and emphasized that the Village needs to position itself as a prime location for business when the economy finally recovers.

“Some people don’t even know what businesses are down here,” Lane said. “Newer places—some people haven’t even been in there yet. One way or another, we need to make this downtown more vibrant.”

The launch meeting for “Think Local, Spend Local, Be Local” is open to all Western Springs business owners and NPOS, Village officials and invited guests. It will be held on Tuesday, March 22, at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Bank of Western Springs.