The Durango Business Improvement District encourages you to shop local this holiday season. Supporting local businesses at this time of year is the gift that keeps on giving. The businesses you know and love need your support in December so they can be there for you next year.
Did you know that December sales in the Central Business District have exceeded July sales in 13 of the past 20 years? These are the best two months of the year for Downtown businesses. July is a big month because of tourists, but December is successful because of locals shopping local. BID encourages you to keep up the good work!
To incentivize and reward you for shopping local, BID offers its annual Holiday Rewards Program. This program pays you for shopping local. It is free money. That might sound too good to be true, but it is not. Let BID reward you for shopping local this holiday season.
The program is winding down as I write this, so check the website to see how many rewards are still available. Go to DowntownDurango.org/holiday-rewards and look for the chart near the top of the page.
If there are still rewards available, here is how you can benefit. Shop at any of the 350 eligible businesses downtown and in the North Main District. Any receipt that is at least $25 and dated no earlier than Dec. 6 qualifies, so your Noel Night purchases can earn you a reward. You can combine up to 10 receipts to reach our spending levels, then earn a reward. Rewards increase with the more you spend at local, eligible businesses.
Spending $250 earns you a $25 reward. Spending $400 earns you a $50 reward. Spending $650 or more earns you a $100 reward. Again, you can combine up to 10 receipts that are at least $25 to reach any of these spending levels to get your reward.
Take a photo of each receipt and submit them on the website. That’s it! Don’t delay, the rewards are going fast and when they are gone, they are gone. The website will tell you how many of each reward is still available.
The reward this year is BID’s new Heart of Durango Dollars gift card. Heart of Durango Dollars is a gift card that you can use at the best businesses in town. This card is currently accepted at 50 businesses downtown and in the North Main District. Examples include Carver Brewing Co., Cream Bean Berry, Durango Outdoor Exchange, Zia Taqueria, Pet Haus, Urban Market, 11th Street Station and Ski Barn’s north location to name a few. More businesses are added regularly, and BID expects to have 100 businesses accepting the card in early 2025.
BID’s Holiday Rewards Program is presented by Alpine Bank and sponsored by Eolus Bar and Dining. We literally could not offer this without their support, thank you!
Keep shopping local Durango-area people, and happy holidays!
Tim Walsworth is executive director of Durango Business Improvement District. Reach him at timw@downtowndurango.org or 375-5068.