Reinvented Buy Lakewood! Initiative Set to Launch

Shop local. Support Lakewood businesses.

Buy Lakewood! 

That’s the idea behind an idea to stimulate Lakewood's economy and create interaction between local Lakewood businesses and its residents.

The program was originally hatched in 2009, but last month a new initiative was unveiled to help the program become more “simple, functional and flexible.” 

Officials say that Buy Lakewood! — a partnership between the city, LakewoodAlive, the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce and the Madison Avenue Merchants Association — has been resurrected and reinvented.

It’s set to begin on Friday.

The new initiative features “5 Percent Fridays,” with participating businesses appropriately offering a 5 percent discount to residents on Fridays.

With more 130 Lakewood businesses already on board, officials are hopeful that the program is a success.

“Buy Lakewood is a critical element of supporting those who are investing in Lakewood — which are our business owners,” said Lakewood Mayor Michael Summers. “Anything we can do to help them to help us is the right thing to do.”

In his blog on Lakewood Patch, Michael Bowen, the assistant to Summers, said that “with a new look, a new focus, and a new perspective the Buy Lakewood! program will soar in 2012.”

Officials agree that Buy Lakewood! will focus on educating individuals about the importance of buying locally and the economic impact it has on our city.

So, what’s the big idea?

The initiative reports a few reasons: 

• It keeps dollars in Lakewood's economy. For every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 stays in the local economy, creating jobs and expanding the city's tax base.
• Likewise, this program embraces what makes Lakewood unique. Lakewood is a suburb where we shop, eat and entertain — it is what makes our neighborhood our home.
• Residents will also be able to have more choices. A marketplace of hundreds of small businesses helps to ensure more innovation, competition and lower prices over the long term. Local businesses choosing products based on what their local customers need and desire guarantee a more diverse range of product and service choices.
• Lastly, local businesses are the lifeblood of our community. When we keep our dollars in the city, every purchase contributes toward our schools, our culture and the well-being of our friends, relatives and neighbors.

Lakewood shoppers can pick up a Buy Lakewood! card at Lakewood City Hall, LakewoodAlive or the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. Buy Lakewood! cards from the previous campaign will also be accepted.

For more information — or to enroll a business — visit the Buy Lakewood! website.