Local Businesses Need Your Support. Here’s Why.

Sophia Lottmann, Staff Writer

Small local businesses and “mom and pop” stores need your support.

 

As online shopping becomes increasingly common, it is important to support local businesses. The whole experience of shopping at a small local business is very rewarding. 

 

Another reason that they need your support is because there are a lot of large corporations that are selling the same things for a lot more money and our small local businesses could be selling the same products for a lower price.  

 

People don’t give the small local businesses a chance because they automatically assume that its prices are higher because of its size and that they have to charge more.  

 

Shopping online may be more convenient by just clicking a button on your laptop or iphone but you aren’t going to get the same experience as you would shopping at an independent store. 

 

I have been going to this Deil since I was a little kid because my family is friends with the family that owns the place. One thing that I have seen while going to this place is that everyone knows everyone on a first name basis. Also,when you go there they know your order before you even order anything. 

 

People that shop in large grocery stores for their groceries believe that the prices at your local deli/catering business will be through the roof. Yes, it is a fact that when you are a large store and buy in large bulk you do have the opportunity to buy at a lower cost, but that’s not always the case. 

 

“A&G is still a good company because we really offer good service more than anything,” Giancarlo Gramaglia, Owner of A&G Fine Italian Foods said. “Sometimes they were a little more than the supermarkets when it comes to pricing but sometimes were actually cheaper than the supermarket but it’s really a family-style business.” 

 

Although online shopping may be more convenient, you aren’t going to get the same customer service as you will shopping at an independent store. 

 

“It’s really a family-style business where you walk in, we know your first name,” Gramaglia said. “And if you go into a supermarket it’s very rare that anybody knows you to that degree.”  

 

Giancarlo, the son took the role of being the active owner in 2000 and plans on continuing to stay true to being a family style business.

 

When I go to A&G, not only do they know me by my first name but they know what I’m going to order before I even say it.  Sometimes I throw them for a loop and add something extra. It seems to me that this small local business finds that their customers are not just customers but are family and that it is a place to feel connected to others. 

 

Advantages of shopping at your small local businesses are that you are supporting your community, you physically see the product and the atmosphere is much more inviting. Pushing that button for that purchase can not compare to the years of experience that a business owner like for example the Gramaglia family business has been operating since 1971.     

 

Lastly, a benefit to shopping at your small local business is that you just might find something that you’re not looking for.