Saturday, September 21, 2013
Another local business joins the Living Local organization
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
New Businesses are Joining!
Four more local businesses have joined the Living Local organization:
Grapevine Pizzeria and Restaurant
Luminous Glow
413 Wood Pellets
Gift-ology
Our business membership has now increased to 42.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Redstone Creamery Thanks the Community
The following letter to the editor written by Mary Flahive Dickson of Redstone Creamery appeared in this week's Reminder (week of September 12) ...
Thank you for supporting Redstone Creamery during its first year.
What a great year it has been, what a great time we have had getting to know our neighbors, becoming so involved in our community and making new friends.
Thank each of you for supporting our dream of establishing and cultivating a great local business in East Longmeadow.
Our thought in opening Redstone was to create an atmosphere where people are able to come in to an atmosphere as though they were walking into our home; where they are greeted by name. The environment is fun for children, relaxed for business meetings and cozy for friends to grab a coffee and snack and unwind. With story hours for children, specialized classes, book readings and local talent nights, it is our dream to have Redstone be the place for everyone.
Being a big supporter of local businesses, we knew Redstone is what East Longmeadow needed. A local coffee/ice cream shop owned and run by a member of our community. There are so many well-known, locally owned businesses in East Longmeadow and we are fortunate to be a part of that group.
Our town is one that embraces our neighbors and our neighbors’ businesses; you know when you open the door of the business, you are going to see the owner and that’s what makes East Longmeadow unique. So many surrounding towns are walking towns; however, stop and take a look at the businesses; most all, are corporate/ franchise businesses.
Ask yourself, “What is your dollar supporting when you purchase a product from that store?” Yes, there are other coffee shops and ice cream/frozen yogurt stores in our area; however, most are not locally or independently owned, and therefore your dollar is not staying local. For the most part, they have no commitment to East Longmeadow and certainly not to the folks that live here.
“What is your dollar supporting when you purchase ice cream, coffee, baked goods or any other locally made products at Redstone?” For every dollar spent at an independently owned, local store or restaurant .70 cents returns to the community (fire, police, school) through taxes, payroll and other expenditures.
However, for those stores and restaurants that are not local or independent, only 40 cents of every dollar stays local. Do you want your dollar to stay local?
In addition, you are helping to secure the future of the local farmers, bakers and coffee roasters; Pierce Brothers Coffee, Esselon Coffee, Simona’s Gluten Free baked goods from Haydenville, Smyth’s Trinity Dairy Farm, and our ice cream is from Blake’s Farm in New Hampshire.
Redstone was created to bring the community together over a cup of coffee or an ice cream. As a parent of children, I also wanted it to be a safe place for the kids in town to come in and hang out, as well as a place where local artisans can display their wares. This is what we continue to strive for.
From selling bracelets, which support Pat Bean’s Whispering Horse Therapeutic Riding Center to selling hand painted glassware by Pat Barker, the circle of local support at Redstone is endless.
Once again ask yourself, do you want to live locally or do you want this to be a community of outsiders, franchises and corporate chains? Are you willing to walk the walk?
If you haven’t visited Redstone, I encourage you to do so. If you are already a patron, thank you and I look forward to seeing you again!
Mary Flahive Dickson/ Redstone Creamery
__________________________________________________________
What a great year it has been, what a great time we have had getting to know our neighbors, becoming so involved in our community and making new friends.
Thank each of you for supporting our dream of establishing and cultivating a great local business in East Longmeadow.
Our thought in opening Redstone was to create an atmosphere where people are able to come in to an atmosphere as though they were walking into our home; where they are greeted by name. The environment is fun for children, relaxed for business meetings and cozy for friends to grab a coffee and snack and unwind. With story hours for children, specialized classes, book readings and local talent nights, it is our dream to have Redstone be the place for everyone.
Being a big supporter of local businesses, we knew Redstone is what East Longmeadow needed. A local coffee/ice cream shop owned and run by a member of our community. There are so many well-known, locally owned businesses in East Longmeadow and we are fortunate to be a part of that group.
Our town is one that embraces our neighbors and our neighbors’ businesses; you know when you open the door of the business, you are going to see the owner and that’s what makes East Longmeadow unique. So many surrounding towns are walking towns; however, stop and take a look at the businesses; most all, are corporate/ franchise businesses.
Ask yourself, “What is your dollar supporting when you purchase a product from that store?” Yes, there are other coffee shops and ice cream/frozen yogurt stores in our area; however, most are not locally or independently owned, and therefore your dollar is not staying local. For the most part, they have no commitment to East Longmeadow and certainly not to the folks that live here.
“What is your dollar supporting when you purchase ice cream, coffee, baked goods or any other locally made products at Redstone?” For every dollar spent at an independently owned, local store or restaurant .70 cents returns to the community (fire, police, school) through taxes, payroll and other expenditures.
However, for those stores and restaurants that are not local or independent, only 40 cents of every dollar stays local. Do you want your dollar to stay local?
In addition, you are helping to secure the future of the local farmers, bakers and coffee roasters; Pierce Brothers Coffee, Esselon Coffee, Simona’s Gluten Free baked goods from Haydenville, Smyth’s Trinity Dairy Farm, and our ice cream is from Blake’s Farm in New Hampshire.
Redstone was created to bring the community together over a cup of coffee or an ice cream. As a parent of children, I also wanted it to be a safe place for the kids in town to come in and hang out, as well as a place where local artisans can display their wares. This is what we continue to strive for.
From selling bracelets, which support Pat Bean’s Whispering Horse Therapeutic Riding Center to selling hand painted glassware by Pat Barker, the circle of local support at Redstone is endless.
Once again ask yourself, do you want to live locally or do you want this to be a community of outsiders, franchises and corporate chains? Are you willing to walk the walk?
If you haven’t visited Redstone, I encourage you to do so. If you are already a patron, thank you and I look forward to seeing you again!
Mary Flahive Dickson/ Redstone Creamery
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Living Local is now 40 members strong!
Well... here comes Fall! And we are excited to announce that we are 40 MEMBERS STRONG, as of today and still growing! For those of you who have not joined, now is the time to jump in!
We will have the decals early next week for all of our members to proudly display. Every paid member will get one free and can purchase more for $5.00 each. Decals will be available at Kiddly Winks and our steering committee will try to get them out to all of you as soon as we can. Members can also use the logo on stationary and advertising.
On Wednesday, September 11th, Nancy Shepard Holloway and I will be on Mass Appeal on Channel 22, introducing our organization to their viewers! We are excited and honored to speak about our organization and about the lifestyle of " LIVING LOCAL" on TV for the first time. Tune in if you can! We don't know exactly what time we are on.
Our next meeting is Wednesday, September 18th at 8:00 AM at Rinaldi's.
We are working on our BIG November Event and need your participation, so please attend to help with the plans. A special thank you to Christina and staff at Rinaldi's for hosting a second meeting.
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