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People all over the country, even all over the world are feeling the effects of the slow economy. This has been especially true of local businesses, many of which have had to close down recently. So, in an open letter to the people of New Canaan sent out earlier this week, First Selectman Jeb Walker and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tucker Murphy urge residents to support locally-owned businesses.
The main focus of the push is to maintain the towns New England village atmosphere. Our idyllic village setting helped draw our own families to New Canaan, Walker and Murphy wrote. We can all take pride in the fact that for 200 years the residents of New Canaan have supported and maintained this unique and beautiful asset, which contributes to our shared community bonds, neighborly way of life and strong economic foundations.
The pair hopes that increased support will allow locally owned shops and restaurants to thrive, which would keep national chain stores from moving in. Without naming specifics, they pointed to other towns in Fairfield County and beyond that saw the majority of their businesses replaced with franchises.
We have all watched as our neighboring towns have lost their local character, resulting in too many chain stores and fractured shopping districts, they said. Not here. We talk about how fortunate we are to be able to walk into a local New Canaan store where we know the owner and they know us resulting in a kind of service and experience that we would all miss if it were gone.
The two also stressed that keeping locally owned shops and restaurants would be a boon to the whole town, not just small business owners. Keeping a village aesthetic would keep home values high, and therefore help the towns revenues. Spending time and money in our village is an investment in our community, Walker and Murphy added, enriching our quality of life and supporting our municipal services and top-ranked schools.
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