FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio — Small Business Saturday is held annually the weekend after Thanksgiving to promote local operations.

This year in Fairview Park, the city is going one step further with an emailed newsletter to residents and friends that supports the “Buy Local, Dine Local, and Support Local Businesses” effort.

“We have a lot of pretty unique businesses here in Fairview Park,” Mayor Patrick Cooney said. “We want to remind our residents and friends that these businesses should buy local, buy local and spend local.

“I know there are some supply chain issues this year that could be a challenge, but a lot of our local businesses are artists and have really unique and nice items that people can buy, not just at this time of year, but really all year round. We really want to remind people of these opportunities and also promote our local businesses. »

While the mayor isn’t sure if the city has ever published a pro-small business newsletter in the past, he said it’s important to educate the community about local mom-and-pop stores that are often run by residents.

“We’re lucky in Fairview Park, where we have a lot of residents who own businesses here, so they’re doubly invested in our community,” Cooney said.

“Plus, because the smaller businesses are the ones supporting your PTAs, Cub Scouts, and Brownie Troops, they’re much more connected to the community than some of the larger box retailers. They are therefore extremely important.

The mayor sees the new bulletin as the counterpart of the city ​​online takeout or delivery list, which has proven useful during the pandemic. Fairview Park also used CARES Act funding for its $35,000 micro-grants program that has helped nearly 20 local businesses.

“We were able to help some of our local businesses during the initial phase of the pandemic when there were closures,” Cooney said.

“Again, it’s important to keep them running in any way possible, whether it’s grants like this or now foot traffic.”

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