ROGERS PARK — Independent business owners in Rogers Park are encouraging residents to shop locally this holiday season with a Small Business Saturday celebration — and a rebate promotion that can net shoppers as much as $50 in cash.
Small Business Saturday will take place on Saturday, the same day the Rogers Park Business Alliance will kick off its annual Live Love Shop Rogers Park event and rebate program. The events were brought to coincide to allow for a bigger kick-off of the holiday shopping season — and to allow local shoppers to take advantage of both events’ promotions, said Sandi Price, executive director of the Rogers Park Business Alliance.
“It was only natural to roll them together,” she said. “It’s a way to encourage people to shop locally, especially around the holidays.”
Since 2006, the business alliance has held Live Love Shop Rogers Park, which rewards shoppers who spend in the neighborhood with a rebate check.
The program works like this: those who spend certain amounts at Rogers Park independently owned businesses will be rewarded with a rebate. Those who spend $100 will receive a $25 rebate, and those who spend $150 or more will receive a $50 rebate. The rebate comes in the form of a check, organizers said.
In order to get a rebate, one has to spend at least $20 at a minimum of four local stores. The idea is to encourage seasonal shopping, rather than reward regular purchases like at the grocery store or dry cleaner, Price said. (Grocery purchases still count, but only up to $30 and only at independently-owned grocers in Rogers Park.)
“We like to encourage gift buying” with the rebate program, Price said.
In 2018, the rebate program saw 170 submissions totaling 667 transactions at local businesses. That activity generated over $35,600 in revenue for local businesses, according to the business alliance.
Live Love Shop Rogers Park will run from Saturday through Dec. 31. For more rebate rules and how to participate, click here.
To further entice local shopping, the Rogers Park Business Alliance will host a Small Business Saturday welcome event. It will take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at R Public House, 1508 W. Jarvis Ave..
Those who stop at the welcome event will receive either a free coffee or pastry, get a shopping bag filled with giveaways and learn more about the day’s promotions and events.
More than 20 Rogers Park businesses will participate in Small Business Saturday, with each offering specials or discounts.
Rogers Park Art Gallery, 6902 N. Glenwood Ave., will host a holiday open house Saturday with live music and refreshments. Picnic Wine and Provisions, 7301 N. Sheridan Road, will host a Small Business Saturday holiday bazaar, complete with live entertainment, refreshments and local artists on hand to sell their works. For the full list of participating businesses, click here.
Purchases made at Small Business Saturday can go towards the Live Love Shop rebate program.
Without one main commercial strip, the events help residents seek out local businesses, helping those business owners compete with big box stores during the biggest shopping season of the year.
“We are unique in that we have a bunch of different commercial areas,” Price said. “We want to encourage people to get out and shop in Rogers Park.”
Do stories like this matter to you? Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Want to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation? Thanks to NewsMatch 2019, your donation will be doubled through Dec. 31. Donate here.