Pair target vacant downtown Tacoma space to encourage property owners to offer free or decreased rent

"We need to decrease the supply of vacant (retail) space. That's why we are trying to do this," Dominic Accetturo, a commercial real estate broker with GVA Kidder Mathews, said last week.

Accetturo has been talking to downtown property owners and managers. His partner in the project, Patricia Lecy-Davis, owner of Embellish Salon and president of the business group Go Local, is charged with recruiting businesses that may be interested in such a deal.

Lecy-Davis said that while there's a focus on recruiting larger businesses to the downtown core – the key lies in filling in the smaller vacant spaces.

"Until we fill the pockets with unique offerings and (create) some energy, there isn't going to be a reason for someone to locate here," she said.

She envisions filling the space with groups of artists selling their wares, local T-shirt and fashion designers, or farmers-market merchants looking for a winter venue.

[full article]

Is Walmart the Future of Local Food?

One of the most important historic developments in the food economy is embodied in this statistic: in 1900, 40 percent of every dollar spent on food went to the farmer or rancher while the rest was split between inputs and distribution. Now? 7 cents on the dollar goes to the producer and 73 cents goes just to distribution...

... It's time we dropped "economies of scale" as the dominant business mantra, especially for the food system. Indeed, the CFE report observes that the huge split between distributor and producer revenues shows the enormous opportunity for local businesses. Suddenly, sprawling distribution networks seem like a competitive disadvantage...

...The new mantra of business should be "the local multiplier effect"—which I talked about here—and measures the enhanced economic benefit of local ownership of businesses. So, while Walmart will no doubt find ways to benefit from the spiking interest in local food, it's the Community Food Enterprise's case studies that provide the real roadmap to a robust food system.

 [full article here]

New England Restaurants band together and create Local Rewards Card

... Local eateries contain so much history and character — it would be a shame to see them go out of business in favor of cookie-cutter chains that use their deep pockets to advertise to the masses and offer bland entrées fifty cents per plate cheaper. Many of the major national chains have opened stores throughout the region, but seven years ago local restaurant owners and consumers alike decided that it was time to take a stand. They had to defend a major part of what makes this area of the country so unique.

The creation of the Favorite Independent Restaurant Association (FIRA) marked a change in the tides. Finally there was a way to reward consumers for enjoying the "local flavor". Introducing the FIRA Local Rewards Card, a way in which the FIRA member restaurants can say thank you for your visiting any of these fine restaurants. For every $100 you spend, $10 is put back on your card as your reward for eating someplace you love. You can use your rewards dollars at any of our participating restaurants.

Now for the really great news — not only can your FIRA card be used for constant rewards, but they can be used as gift cards as well. That's right, you can order a FIRA gift card in any denomination. Just imagine being able to give someone the opportunity to dine at 40 different restaurants this holiday season. Not only that, but when the gift dollars are gone, the very same card can be used to accumulate rewards points just like any other card. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

[full article here]