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As we enter the holiday season, there’s no better time to celebrate the spirit of Montgomery by shopping locally. Small businesses are such an important part of the community and by choosing to shop locally, you can make a meaningful impact on the local economy.
In this episode, you will hear from Montgomery Assistant City Manager, Tracy Henao, and the Montgomery Ohio Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Julie Lyon. They will talk about the importance of shopping local and share all that Montgomery has to offer.
AMY FREDERICK:
Welcome to Montgomery Insider podcast. I'm Amy Frederick. This is all the news and information about the City of Montgomery. In this edition, we're talking about shopping local. It's that time of year holiday shopping that's on the minds of many people, including myself. Our guests today include Julie Lyon, director of Montgomery Chamber of Commerce and Montgomery's assistant city manager, Tracy Henao. So why do you two think it's so important to shop local?
JULIE LYON:
Well being that we're all in this for the same reason and trying to keep our community growing. Montgomery has so much to offer here, and we work together, especially with the chamber and the city, and like to bring keep our money here in our town and help our community and city as well.
TRACY HENAO:
Thanks, Julie, I couldn't agree with you more. It's very important to keep our local dollars local and support our entrepreneurs, our small businesses, as well as some of our larger businesses here in town in order to build a thriving community. It's also a really great opportunity to just get some unique gifts that you might not find on Amazon or other big box retailers to surprise your loved ones on the holidays.
JULIE LYON:
I couldn't agree with you more. We have some really fabulous shopping here, not just in the historic parts of Montgomery, but in Montgomery Square as well as the Marketplace, and for example, in the Montgomery Square. Off the top of my head, I think of the winner of the great award for People's Choice, which is Wild Birds Unlimited has been in the Montgomery area for quite some time and has grown substantially since I remember. I shouldn't say how long ago, but it was long ago. And then you have the newer businesses such as Nova Candle, where you can come in as groups and make your own candles, and the smells are amazing. And then you have staples like Aglamesis for ice cream. Um, and, you know, Kroger, of course, as always, a big spot.
TRACY HENAO:
Of course, you can't forget Kroger and pick up all your essentials for the holiday cooking and all of those. But we also have Spicy Olive at Montgomery Square for our foodies, a lot of different foodie stores out there, Z Place, and then all of our fantastic restaurants make it a great opportunity not only for your holiday get togethers, but also gift certificates. Never ever a bad choice for gift certificates. And we have so many amazing restaurants here in Montgomery really becoming a food destination. So if it's a new restaurant like Kitchen Social or some of our classics like Montgomery in some of our small ones, Sukothai and Artemis, things that people might not think of on a regular basis, but all make fantastic gathering spaces as well as gift opportunities.
JULIE LYON:
Absolutely. And I think, again, going back to the marketplace, you have Pacific Kitchen. I know there is. I think you said the Thai restaurant as well, but we have comedy, I mean comedy as well as some really spectacular social places and, and Bell and Bear, which they have all kinds of fun activities pretty much every night of the week Corner Pub, the tavern, etcetera. There's never a dull moment in this area, I don't.
TRACY HENAO:
Know, and it's really been a such a a warm fall. And so if we do have some opportunities to get out this winter as well, we have our designated outdoor refreshment area or our Dora, so you can take advantage of stopping into some of our restaurants and taverns and head down to the new Montgomery Quarter to check out our new restaurants there and the new park in that location. So there's just no end in sight for all of the fun things that you can do in the city this holiday season.
JULIE LYON:
There's a lot of things that women in general can do as well as far as ladies nights or getting engaged. I mean, there are many jewelry stores here that you can shop for engagement rings, and after that get a bridal gown and your dresses for the occasion. There's plenty to do here in Montgomery. Yeah, we're.
TRACY HENAO:
Becoming a little bridal district almost. We have several different bridal stores now. Mother of The Bride, which I know you know something about Julie do.
JULIE LYON:
Yes.
TRACY HENAO:
So we've had great opportunities there. But and as you mentioned, a multitude of jewelry stores from Montgomery Jewelers to Krumholtz to James Free.
JULIE LYON:
Diamonds, rock.
TRACY HENAO:
Diamonds, rock, I mean, the list goes on and on of all of the different jewelry stores that we have there. And I don't think a single lady out there would complain about getting a beautiful necklace or a bracelet from hubby. I agree.
JULIE LYON:
And they're all very supportive of our community as well. They're very generous for different occasions and when we come knocking at their door for donations, they're all pretty supportive in that respect, which is wonderful.
TRACY HENAO:
And I know one of the things that, especially in our downtown businesses, we get a lot is where do we park, where, where do we get out so we can experience all of these small businesses? And I just like to remind people all the time, we have plenty of parking and it's free, free parking back on Shelley Lane. And then if you're in Montgomery Quarter, certainly. Check out the new garage there. But just another way to not only save on parking, you save on gas by shopping locally but also help the environment. Without all of those trips by Amazon and all of the boxes. No offense Amazon, I use it. It has its place, certainly, but we want to keep people here locally as much as possible.
JULIE LYON:
Which is another thing to bring up. We have a fabulous farmers market that goes, I believe, from May through October. So it just finished up. But when it's not open, there's always Pipkins, which is always open. And so you can get your fresh food there as well. So it gives you a nice little touch of something different in this area.
AMY FREDERICK:
So it's basically here in Montgomery. You can come here in the morning. You can have breakfast maybe at Toast and Berry. You can stay all day. You can look at the different shops. There are so many unique gifts that you can look at and then come back in the evening for dinner, maybe a comedy show. We offer it all. And then, you know, as you were saying, there's free parking so you don't have to spend a lot in gas. I know gas is well over $3.30. Sometimes you can just park your car and walk the sidewalks. It's safe in the evenings for you to find your car again, which is really important. So there's so much to do here in Montgomery. Shopping local is important, and we want you to come on out and take a look at all the shops that we have and want to thank you both for joining me this afternoon, Julie and Tracy. And remember, if you're going to come shopping for the holidays, keep Montgomery in mind and shop local.
