'Online is not going to support your community': Shop small this Saturday to boost NWFL economy

*Editor's note: This story has been updated to correctly reflect the amount of funds raised for the Fort Walton Beach High School track.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Restaurateur Tom Rice sometimes jokes that the most used button on the Magnolia Grill's cash register is the NS button.

"That 'no sale' makes the drawer pop open," Rice said with a chuckle. "(We give) a gift certificate for this, a gift certificate for that. That's just what we do. When they come to me with a pancake breakfast, or the ROTC needs a new parade field or they need a rubber mat for the track club, those are easy things to join with."

Like most small business owners, Rice takes pride and pleasure in giving back to his community. And like most small businesses owners, he takes pride and pleasure in that the community supports him in return.

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This weekend, the community will have a formal opportunity to support Rice and thousands of business owners like him during Small Business Saturday, an annual event when shoppers are encouraged spend their time and money at local mom-and- pop businesses.

Shane Moody, president and CEO of the Destin Chamber of Commerce, said there are many tangible benefits to shopping local.

"I think Small Business Saturday is vital to the local economy," Moody said. "I think one of the great things about it is it makes people think about buying local. That's the message that we push and emphasize all 12 months of the year: support those small businesses."

Why?

"Those are the businesses that their families live, work and play here," Moody said. "They provide jobs for people who, live work and play here. They create sales tax dollars and property tax dollars for the counties to use and cities to use for infrastructure improvements. So they play a huge role.

"When you get down to the community level, they're the ones who sponsor the youth sports leagues," he added. "They give to the churches. They give to charity. So more than jobs, more than tax dollars, they recirculate their money into the community and give us quality of life that we have."

Supporting businesses in Fort Walton Beach

Nikki Via, owner of the Artesano Boutique in downtown Fort Walton Beach, said when you buy any of the handmade art, ceramics or jewelry in her store, you are directly supporting a local artist.

"To me, it's important that we are spending our money locally and that money is going back into our community," she said. "Like at my store, the money goes back to our artists. We have over 50 artists, and they're people that live here in our community. So it's not money that's going out of our community and into big pockets that don't care or give back to the schools or donate. I think it's important to keep that circle (of supporting our community) going right here."

Via said her business is very involved in downtown events and with local charities. She added that this weekend, she and her downtown neighbors will give shoppers a cozier holiday shopping experience.

"We have a big Small Business Saturday, Black Friday holiday shopping weekend," she said. "We like to put out lots of food and drinks. We stocked the store with lots of holiday items. We do gift wrapping. It's just a lot of fun. It's a nice way to come and get into the shopping, but it's relaxed and it just has a good local vibe. You can walk around to the shops and the restaurants and it's not crazy."

Jeff and Donna Harris, owners of the nearby Run With It athletic store in downtown Fort Walton Beach, make it a mission to reinvest in the community.

For instance, the couple helped raise $150,000 over a period of seven years to help fund a rubberized track at Fort Walton Beach High School.

Jeff Harris added that from a practical standpoint, being part of the community where you do business helps ensure you can meet the community's needs. As an example, Harris said the family had picked up pickleball as a hobby and noticed if was tough to find gear.

"There was no place you could buy pickleball equipment locally; you had to buy everything online," he said.

He said the store was able to stock a full array of pickleball gear in just two months, filling a local niche that was needed and appreciated by customers. It's that sort of mutually beneficial relationship that helps small businesses serve and support their communities.

"Online is not going to support your community," Harris said.

"We been reading how brick and mortar is going out of business. But as long as you engrain yourself in the community and support the community, the community supports you."

It has been estimated that approximately a third of America's small businesses closed, at least temporarily, during the course of the COVID pandemic.

And to be sure, while local business owners experienced periods of hardship, many said they had banner years in 2020 and 2021 due to the support of the community.

"Things were tough during the six or seven weeks shut down last year, but as soon as the governor opened up, in Northwest Florida we bounced back in a hurry," Moody said. "It helps being the No. 2 drive-to destination in the state. People can get here easily, and that that helps. But many people had record years last year even with the six weeks that we were shut down. They had even better years this year, and so the economy has really grown and stayed steady."

Via said it was rewarding to know that customers had intentionally stayed with them.

"We have been so blessed that the tourists have continued to come and fuel our economy and spend money here," she said. "And locals, I think it really gives them even more incentive to get out and support their favorite businesses because they don't want to see them go anywhere. It was a real realization that people were closing their doors, and so we've been very lucky that this past year. We had a lot of support."

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Rice offered a similar assessment, and will happily keep hitting that NS button to support the folks who have supported him, his family and his employees.

"It's a good feeling to use this facility, the kitchens for pancake breakfasts, fundraisers for the Air Force Enlisted Village, those kind of things," hei said. "It's a lot more satisfying to us than having a shiny car or a brand new pickup truck in the backyard. ... We do get a lot of pleasure out of doing these things."

Rice shared a bit of wisdom he said he'd learned from an old preacher.

"He said he'd never done a funeral yet with a U-haul behind the hearse," Rice recounted with a chuckle. "You can't take it with you."

Information on various area small businesses can be found at https://www.crestviewchamber.com/, https://www.nicevillechamber.com/, https://www.destinchamber.com/, https://www.fwbchamber.org/ and https://www.waltonareachamber.com/.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Okaloosa, Walton businesses gearing up for Small Business Saturday